Looking a Gift Horse in the Mouth

To the editor:

I am writing in response to the comments made by Commissioners Mc Broom and Berckenhoff as reported in Andy Behlen’s article in the May 7, 2024 issue of the Fayette County Record. On September 11, 2023 my wife and I contributed $750,000 to the first responders who dedicatedly serve Fayette County. This donation was split equally between the Fayette County EMS, the La Grange Volunteer Fire Department and the Fayette County Sherriff Department. As I stated in my press release and later clarified in my letter to the editor responding to comments made by McBroom and Berckenhoff in Commissioners Court on September 14, 2023, I made it clear that “my gift to the county was specifically to offset most of the County budget allocated for purchase of needed equipment for the first responders to free up funds to increase the salaries to at least the minimum paid by our neighboring counties (approximately 10% increase) until the $350,000 State grant provided by SB 22 is received by the County in January. In fact, a condition of my gift was to raise the salaries of our first responders, or I wanted my money back.” This is the verbatim of my intent and condition of donation.

I find it insulting and disingenuous for the Commissioners to even discuss reneging on the agreements made when the County accepted my donation. Commissioner Mc Broom’s and Commissioner Berckenhoff’s comments that a portion of the SB 22 grant be used for equipment is in direct conflict with the County’s obligation when it accepted $500,000 of my money. As to the magnitude of the salary increases, those amounts were needed to make salaries at least equal to the minimums paid by our surrounding counties and was a condition of my donation.

The funds I supplied along with the annual grant provided by SB 22 provided for significant improvements for the operation of our first responders without costing the County one red cent. As the old saying goes, “Only a fool looks a gift horse in the mouth.”

Steve Hillhouse La Grange