lawgrad91 wrote:So, Virginia finally passed a budget. It includes a $3300 raise for ACA's. Last year there was the same raise, and theoretically new ACA's will now make the same money that new assistant Public Defenders make. Meanwhile, the office is on a shoestring budget. We are supposed to make double side copies of everything possible, use the back sides of papers once whatever is on the front side is used up, pay 6 cents a sheet for our personal copies, etc., etc., etc.
We get a letter today from Jethro. Not a memo, a three page letter. (Other than Awbrey the newbie, there were no other ACA's in the office, as Midget Perv and Randy the Genius are on vacation.) It details the fact that we are getting this raise, and how hard he worked to make sure he got it, and how thoughtful Varnish County is for not sucking up our raise into what they pay us, since they cover an average of $23,000 of our salaries. (An out-and-out misrepresentation, because there is no way in hell they are paying 23K of my salary. He is including their paying our personal health insurance, which since they pay every county employee's, I don't see how somehow that benefits just us. Plus, Bob told me their help was significantly less than that. But I digress.)
The reason for his three page memo is that he expects, by July 11, for the four of us to write letters to the appropriate state delegates, state senators, and the county manager to thank each of them for his/her insuring that we got said raise. The letters are supposed to be specific to each person and let the person know what we will do with the money, and helpfully included suggestions such as student loans, helping our family members, etc. And we are to make two copies of each letter (except to the county manager, where one copy will do.) It also listed the addresses of each person and how we should address them in salutation.
There are SIXTEEN senators and delegates. So, instead of the brief to the Court of Appeals, instead of trying to figure out which videos I want to charge on in my child porn case, I will be writing letters. Seventeen of them. And making copies. And placing them in envelopes and mailing said envelopes. So for the four of us, that's an entire pack of letterhead paper, thirty two dollars worth of stamps (plus, I assume, a large, economy sized envelope to send the copies to the Virginia Commonwealth's Attorney's Association, and extra stamps for those), and countless hours of make work.
I plan to say, "Dear Senator (blank), thank you for my extra money. I plan to use it to hire male prostitutes and purchase methamphetamine."