County Employees Go Without Pay in Montesano
Clerks for Chehalis County officers face a financial crisis as the local government runs out of money and refuses to pay salaries.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
To be a clerk for any of the officers of Chehalis county is to have a job that is certainly an unenviable one. For about two months, they have not received any pay for their services. The commissioners concluded that the clerks were not entitled to draw their allowance from the salary fund and relegated them to the general fund, which is currently overdrawn by over $4,000. There is no money in the fund until next January, meaning no pay for the clerks. A recent attempt by county officers to secure payment for their employees was a fruitless task; the commissioners merely suggested that officers issue 'time checks,' which the clerks do not want because they would have to discount them to realize any benefit. The matter will likely head to court.
“As one officer said: 'I talked to them as long as they would listen to me and then left.'”
This story highlights a classic struggle of local governance where budget mismanagement leads to public employees holding the bag. The frustration felt by the clerks in 1893 remains a familiar symptom of municipal fiscal instability.
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