Templeton’s buzzsaw didn’t save much money for SC taxpayers

As a former DHEC employee, I can greatly appreciate the article about Catherine Templeton, “This GOP governor candidate’s ‘buzzsaw’ of state employees cost SC $1.2 million.” Although I was not fired by Catherine Templeton, I experienced the fallout from her administration.

I witnessed dedicated public-health employees who became frustrated and stymied by newly appointed directors, some of whom had no public-health experience, but were put in charge of protecting our state’s public health. Most of these inexperienced directors were paid much more than most public-health employees and more than their counterparts in other areas. I witnessed the agency become much more top heavy, with more administrative personnel. The vast majority of DHEC employees were and are good people who truly care about our state and the health of the public.

One important fact that was not included in the article is that around 75 percent of DHEC’s funding comes from the federal government, not the state. So Catherine Templeton’s “buzzsaw” actions were primarily a show for then-Gov. Nikki Haley and political promotion for herself — not a real savings to the state. Those small budget savings came with a heavy cost in experience and knowledge for our state.

The State publishes a cross section of the letters we receive from South Carolinians in order to provide a forum for our community and also to allow our community to get a good look at itself, for good or bad. The letters represent the views of the letter writers, not necessarily of The State.

This story was originally published May 31, 2018 at 9:13 AM with the headline "Templeton’s buzzsaw didn’t save much money for SC taxpayers."