Government office closings

[jay]

A TV news story today indicated the county paid $200,000 in wages for this snow day.

[Towntalk]

Speaking of crazy weather, my cousin sent me some pictures of the weather in Texas ... she teaches at one of the colleges there.

[Why?Town]

The problem is we are PAYING them to stay home when their safety could just have easily been assured by allowing them to choose to stay home without pay. It's the same option the private sector workers had.

It's a slap in the face to taxpayers that just got to read in last weeks paper about all the raises in county government, some up to 20%. It must be nice. Compared to January 2009 when I got laid off, I  make 29% less money, and lost 5 sick days and 4 weeks of vacation. And that's after 18 months of unemployment which was less than 50% pay

And as for the last weather related mahoning government closing, it was just a few months ago, or did you forget about that earthquake....... in CANADA?

[Dan Moadus]

How about this? Close government offices when the Malls close.

[jay]

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

The Mahoning County government offices located in downtown Youngstown were closed because of the weather on Tuesday.

The city of Youngstown government offices, also located in downtown Youngstown, were open for business.

[PMDragon]

Ok, come-on people. What is so bad about gov. offices closing due to severe weather/road conditions? It has been years since the last weather related closing, so it's not like it happens with the slightest snowflake fall. As a city tax payer I have no issue with the recent closing this week. It certainly, in my opinion, was justified. The city/county has the responsibility to ensure the safety of not only its workers but the public in general. The less traffic on dangerous roads means less accidents/injuries and fewer safety force workers exposed to risks to help the stranded/injured travelers. I believe that most people that may have had court related business to do may have been relieved to know that they didn't have to venture out risking life,limb or vehicle damage. No one's stopping any private sector business from closing, IF they choose to do so, correct? I recall, in distant past, that malls and shopping centers closed due to weather/road conditions. So my feeling is, private sector tax payers,,,,, quit whining and get real. If it bothers you that much, report off, use a sick day, get a gov. job, be thankful to have a county gov. that cares about its workers and the public to keep them safe.