SC citizens target officials’ bogus ‘insurance allowance’

By Steve Maxwell | for The Nerve

So you think you cannot possibly make a difference in reining in out-of-control government? Read on.

This is the story of how a couple of average taxpayers, with help from a small town newspaper editor, wrestled a city government and won – saving city taxpayers over $50,000 per year. It’s also a testament to the power of a free press.

My wife and I have resided in Abbeville, S.C., for nearly 20 years. It’s a great town, with many appealing features, but, alas, we had a governmental problem. For many years (no one in city government could ever say how many – records were “lost”) city council members had the option of accepting state health insurance, for which they would pay the employee share, or receiving a so-called insurance allowance of $6,500 per year, significantly more than their council salary of $5,209 per year.

at The Nerve.