The Tail Wagging the Dog in Chester County
First, Beth Ann Rosica exposed it: Chester County quietly added a “Chief Experience Officer” to its payroll—at $164,000 a year plus benefits—right after raising property taxes by more than 13%.
Then came the CEO’s defense, published in the Daily Local. His argument? “Chester County is a $730 million organization with 2,600 employees. For an operation of this size, a CEO and two deputies is not a luxury, it is a responsible structure that ensures the job gets done.”
David Byerman simply ignores the real concerns of residents in his response.
That is the very definition of the tail wagging the dog. Government exists to serve the people, not to build corporate-style executive suites for itself. The size of the budget isn’t an excuse to expand bureaucracy; it’s a flashing warning sign that government has already grown too big.
Commissioner Eric Roe was right to vote no. You don’t raise taxes, tell every department to cut 5%, and then roll out the red carpet for another six-figure executive. Unless, of course, you live in the upside-down world of Chester County, Pennsylvania, where titles are more important than taxpayers.
And the best part? The CEO actually took time out of his day, on our dime, to pen a long, self-important defense letter to the Daily Local. That’s hours of taxpayer-funded work just to argue why he needs more taxpayer-funded executives. You can’t make this stuff up. The tail isn’t just wagging the dog here, it’s writing op-eds about why wagging is essential.
Check out the accompanying thread on X.
https://x.com/AdaNestorWC/status/1956091561978081737?t=TYReWdQ9uFDf77Qc7YORig&s=19
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