Purcell's savings, costs

How is it, that whenever I see cost savings and Jay Purcell mentioned in the same sentence, I get severe nausea in the pit of my stomach? Did Commissioner Purcell conveniently forget, in his selective memory moment, that he squandered taxpayer money not so long ago? He touts his success in eliminating a county position and saving the county so many thousands but ignores the fact that he cost the taxpayers $26,350 in a frivolous lawsuit. He appears to be the champion of frugality -- or did he just dump more responsibility on another person? You know, the old "doing more with less."

The Southeast Missourian recently ran an article on county officeholders' salaries. The article stated that the average pay for a county employee was in the $25,000 range. Just think, if Mr. Purcell would pay off his legal bills to the county, he could cover an annual salary for a year and then some. I applaud any officeholder who seeks legitimate cost savings, but somehow this smacks of hypocrisy.

JAMES C. ROCHE, Jackson