Anger follows decision to make Corbin Main Street Manager a part-time position

Despite stiff opposition from about 45 area residents Monday, Corbin’s Board of Commissioners voted to cut back the town’s Main Street Manager to a part-time position, a move they say could save up to $65,000 annually.

In front of a packed meeting room, Corbin City Manager Bill Ed Cannon laid out for commissioners the reason for his move, citing most notably a $135,000 dip in the amount of money the city received this fiscal year from the municipal insurance tax and an increase of six percent in "tipping fees" from the city’s landfill service.

"To balance this budget, under the scenario I’m working under, I think this is the least impacting way of doing that," Cannon explained of his recommendation to commissioners to cut Main Street Manger Sharae Myers back to 20 hours a week. "I’m not picking on her … it’s just her department is a non-essential department for the city of Corbin …"

Describing the program as "non-essential" drew the ire of those attending the meeting to support Myers and opposed the move.

Cindi Benton, owner of Kountry Krafts on Main Street in Corbin, accused Cannon of calling downtown merchants "non-essential" when categorizing the Main Street program that way.
Cannon shot back that she was "twisting" his words.

Charlene Blair, a member of the Corbin Main Street Design Committee, argued on behalf of keeping Myers full-time, saying the city would likely lose out on getting grants essential to constructing a park and statue to honor KFC founder Harland Sanders, to paint the Corbin Depot, which houses the Corbin Economic Development Agency, and one to paint a mural on a nearby building owned by CSX.

"If you decide to eliminate our full-time program, Corbin will not be able to compete with our neighbors who all make plans and set aside funds annually to continue with their programs."

Suzie Razmus, Chairperson of the Corbin Tourism and Convention Commission, opposed the move as well, saying Myers has been instrumental in helping Tourism with its work.

"I can tell you she is very well respected in Frankfort and with Hal Rogers’ initiative Tour SEKY," she said. "I understand you all are under a tremendous amount of stress right now. I understand balancing the budget and it’s very difficult. I feel like I would be remiss if I didn’t stand up and tell you what an asset Sharae has been to Tourism. For the amount of money she makes in a year, you are getting more than what you pay for."

In Corbin’s budget for the current fiscal year, Myers is slated to make a salary of $31,811. Benefit costs to the city account for another $11,000. The city would not pay Myers benefits when she is reduced to 20 hours a week.

Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney said the decision to cut back Myers was a balance between her program, and further reducing spending for the Police Department, Fire Department and Public Works. For the past two years, nearly all departments in city government have been asked to make cutbacks, often as much as 10 percent annually. Conversely, Main Street spending has increased.

Cannon said he city already plans to leave unfilled open positions for police officers and firemen and laborers in Public Works. He added that some employees in the Recreation Department have been reduced to part-time status to save money.
McBurney offered a scenario to the crowd under which first responders may not be able to quickly arrive at a situation because of cutbacks to emergency services.

"[If] it took 45 minutes when your loved one died, would you say, well that’s OK because we have a full-time Main Street Manager? That’s what we have to look at. We can’t cut our police and fire department. It’s tough to work with what we have this year."

One opponent of the plan challenged McBurney and said downtown would fall into ruin if Myers was cut back to part-time status.

"I know beauty is important to you, I’ve seen your house. Downtown is beautiful. If we let her go, it’s going to get ugly again … Nobody has any incentive to work 20 hours a week."

Jason Matthews, co-owner of House of S&J, a jewelry and interior design store on Main Street, said many downtown merchants would have been forced to shut their doors without a full-time Main Street Manager.

"As a business owner, I know exactly how this economy is. It is horrible. You got businesses on Main Street that would not have their doors open right now had it not been for Sharae and the Design Committee and all these people working together to get behind her to get these grants," Matthews said. "She is out there working herself to death to make the downtown thrive."

City Commissioner Joe Shelton defended the move as a "difficult" decision, but one necessary to balance the budget.
Jim Dorn, a member of the Main Street Program’s Economic Restructuring Committee, said city leaders should consider some grants Myers has landed as a factor in their decision-making. The Main Street Program has received about $82,000 in grants and donations in its three-year existence.

At times, the meeting became contentious with Cannon saying argument over the issue was a waste of time.

Toward the end of the discussion, Benton launched into a bitter diatribe accusing the commission of an unwillingness to consider any alternatives, and vowed city officials would pay on Election Day for their decisions.

"You all have already made up your minds what you were going to do … I find that very, very annoying and it just totally goes against everything I thought Corbin stood for when I moved here," she said. "Each and every one of you … is an elected official, and this is an election year, and what you do and how you treat us is going to make a big difference when we go vote."

McBurney and all current commissioners are virtually assured they will be re-elected in November’s General Election.

McBurney is the only candidate in the race for mayor. Only four viable candidates remain on the ballot for the four city commission spots.

Cutting short any more debate, Commissioner Phil Gregory abruptly made a motion to accept Cannon’s recommendation. It was quickly approved.

David Moore, a resident of Laurel County, said he was appalled at the poor way those who opposed cutting the program back to part-time were treated. He serves as a commissioner for Laurel Water District No. 2 and is Myer’s father.

"It’s not the decision they made. I know Sharae will be OK. But all the meetings I have attended I have never seen a group of people disrespected like they was by Bill Ed Cannon and this group of commissioners," he said. "They owe it to the people they represent to at least listen to them and have an open mind."

Myers left the meeting in tears and was not at work Tuesday.

After the meeting, Cannon said he would have been forced to go "back to the drawing board" if the commission did not approve his plan.

"I got to make a decision. I don’t want to sit another week playing with it," he said. "If they didn’t want to go along with it, then I will start cutting cops and firemen. It’s that simple. It’s about the numbers and that is all it is about. The budget has to balance."

Cannon said the 2010-2011 fiscal year budget, which commissioners will approve at a series of special meetings later this month, will not contain any raises for city employees. It is the second year in a row city leaders have passed on pay raises.