Consider this: For nearly 8 years the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors have had their pay frozen and when I’m talking about frozen, I’m talking about not even getting a cost of living adjustment.

Now consider the fact that County Supervisors cannot vote themselves a raise. That’s right. It’s illegal.

What County leaders can do is make it so that the next board will have a raise above what this board earns. If they want the newly proposed salary they must win re-election. If their constituents do not believe their values are amply represented, they can send a message by voting out their incumbent Supervisor.

Despite this fact, the less bright elements of our society think it’s a scandalous shock that Supervisors have voted to raise the pay of the next board a meager 4 percent.

So who, in their right mind would oppose even this small change which doesn’t even cover the cost of living increases over the last 8 years? Who would oppose this modest change?

Petty, small-minded people.

But what is even more interesting is who is leading the charge. That person is Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker. As a state legislator, Walker made just over $49,000 but he also received a per diem allowance. After he became the county executive he said he would reject the pay increase.

That was just a play on words.

Instead of making $120,000 which is what the Exec was to make, Walker said he turned back the raise. That meant that Walker only made about $100,000 per year.

Fuzzy math? Yep.

Walker spoke about how he was the pinnacle of self sacrifice but really happened to his salary?

It doubled. No, he enjoyed not the 4 percent which he implies is scandalous, but a 100 percent increase.

Recently Walker moved out of his old house and into a newer, bigger house. And why not, he’s cashing in and pulling back a cool six figures.

So knowing that he’s making double what he made off of the taxpayers you would think he wouldn’t have any problem with Supervisors earning at least a cost of living adjustment right?

Wrong.

Walker is leading the charge against Supervisor pay by announcing his veto against the pay in the front yard of one of his disciples, Kathleen Ashebrock, a south side resident who clearly doesn’t grasp the concept that a 100 percent increase in pay is more than a 4 percent increase in pay.

There are many County Supervisors who work very hard and they should be compensated for their sacrifice. This is not to say that everyone on the board is a work horse, but then neither is Walker. Walker is responsible for putting together a massive budget that is both balanced and responsible. Every year he has been in office he has had departments run deficits because he structures their budgets to not be attainable and he proposes budgets he knows full well will have to be changed by the County Board unless they want to see Constitutionally guaranteed services such as Courts go underfunded.

Considering all of these things together, the Board had a real opportunity here and they missed it. Had they wanted real reform, they should have changed the compensation of the next elected County Executive to be the same as County Supervisors make. And if Walker was genuinely concerned that the cost of elected representative salaries could really break the bank of the county, he should have proposed the cut himself.