I am one of the thousands of disgusted St. Lawrence County residents that is shocked at the behavior of our out-of-control county Legislature.

In one breath the board is discussing how to save money in the upcoming budget year, not filling vacant positions, cutting back on spending for some very vital programs. Now comes the news that this astute group of people have hired an out-of-area attorney to "negotiate" with the local CSEA union. What is the cost of this consultant? Two hundred dollars per hour, including all travel, meals, mileage and expenses associated with negotiating.

The shock of this exorbitant figure dismays me. We can afford thousands of dollars to pay an attorney, yet can't afford salt for our roads, road repairs, heating savings, etc. It is time that the Legislature wakes up and smells the coffee; we the resident taxpayers cannot afford this expense in good times, let alone horrible times.

If the administrator, county attorney or someone else on senior staff isn't capable of negotiating — then maybe they need to be replaced with someone who is.

Matt Thompson

West Stockholm