Several people seem to think the City budget is rampant with waste and fat just begging to be CUT! Here is your place to tell us all what YOU Are ready to CUT TODAY!
Farewell Dark City....
11 years ago
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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12 comments:
I think that under former Mayor Torigian the City budget was trimmed rather close. If you look at the City in terms of what it was like before Torigian and after, you will see a very tight ship when he left office.
Bonfanti inherited this situation - both the good and bad aspects of it. Torigian recognized that school spending was a huge part of the budget and he was very tough when it came to the schools. He was also equally tough on most other departments, but I personally found the under-funding of the school to be the saddest legacy of a man I admired very much.
Bonfanti frankly had no choice but to spend Peabody money to restore and repair much of the damage that the lasting legacy of neglect fostered. But I have also seen (and heard about) his desire for an even tighter budgetary ship.
Now I am NOT going to stand here and say that every single dime is very well spent, or that there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING that isn't being wasted or that can be cut.
Far from it. I know there are probably things that can be trimmed and places where other savings can be implemented. But almost ALL of these will involve some loss of services to the Citizens of Peabody...
So I ask again... what are you willing to cut right now?
OG says...
you are spot on with the Torigian legacy and the situation inherited by Mayor Mike...
OG says..
I appreciate the question but do ordinary citizens like us really know enough about the inner workings of city departments to make suggestions as to what can be eliminated? unless I was hanging around the DPW on Farm Ave or around the City Clerk's office at City Hall how would I ever know what is 'fat' and what is needed? So I love all the bravado about city waste but how does Joe the Plumber like me really know what Mayor Mike can eliminate?
Hey OG...
I got a leaky sink for ya when you got a second... :-)
BTW: Did you here that the real Joe the Dumber, I mean Plumber, is writing a book! And in it he blasts McCain! His 15 minutes never should have happened in the first place!
Here is a consolidated listing so far from the Peabody Patriot blog comments:
• Cut all the fat in City departments... but not public safety (Cut DPS, Water, Schools, City Hall, etc.)
• Cut the 50 extra school employees
• No nonunion raises
• Look into the 'take home' city cars
• Remove the redundancies (School Dept vs City Hall)
• Cut out the waste in City Government (poster claimed Billions?)
• Cut the Mayor's staff
• Fewer firefighters
• Have the Mayor fire his friends and kids
• End the free car perk
• No 'back door' salary boosts (like Burnett's $2k for 'mileage')
• Consolidate redundant City Hall vs. School Dept services (accounting, HR, etc.)
• Hire a City-wide building manager in charge of ALL buildings (bulk purchasing and consolidated repair contracts)
• Solar panels on Higgins renovated roof
• No City money to dredge Crystal Lake (at least not during this crisis)
• Close City Hall on Fridays (energy, staff cost savings)
• Do not permit a raise in Taxes to pay for the raise in union salaries - they knew they would lose jobs if they demanded the raises... so lose the jobs.
• Cut the hours City Hall is open (not sure if poster meant more than just Friday)
• Mayor takes a pay cut or no pay
• All paid elected officials accept no pay during this crisis
• Stop paying consultants to research ways to save money (not exactly sure what this poster is getting at on this one)
• Get rid of all the "assistant's" in City government
• Consolidate the elementary school by closing one or two
Now, I do not agree with all these ideas, but I like that people are (mostly) taking this seriously and I look forward to discussing these are seeing more ideas as well!
Looks like we're making some progress PI!
Close the Middle School.
OG says...
quite a laundry list of recommendations PI !!
Now let me ask you this...WHO has the ultimate power to make these cuts? WHO would have the FINAL vote and approval on most of them ?? WHO can actually make some of them happen ? Which items on this laundry list would give us the quickest and biggest bang for our buck ??
OG says..
the key question to ask >> in the final analysis is this a problem with a lack of cost saving IDEAS or is it really the courage and conviction by our elected leaders to make PROMPT, painful decisions and implement those ideas??
Here is my take on this list (so far):
City-wide
• Cut all the fat in City departments... but not public safety (Cut DPS, Water, Schools, City Hall, etc.)
and
• Cut out the waste in City Government (poster claimed Billions?)
and
• Get rid of all the "assistant's" in City government
This is just all too easy to say. The only thing I can take seriously (given the past two administrations and current budget levels) is that there is SOME waste and there can probably be SOME savings here and there... but it won't add up to really big money. Other than that, this is simply posturing with no help truly intended.
• Fewer firefighters
Well, I have heard that because of smoke alarms and newer fire suppression systems that there is less need for large fire departments. I'm sorry but I just don't buy that argument. I live near one of the stations and these guys are going out 24 hours a day, multiple times a day. Maybe they are not always needed at every emergency call, probably not, but I am a believer in better to have them when you need them than WISH they were there when they aren't.
• Look into the 'take home' city cars
and
• End the free car perk
It is time for this to be addressed. I seriously doubt that Mayor Bonfanti will do it but here is what he SHOULD DO...
Compile a listing of ALL City vehicles and clearly define what role that car is used for. Who uses it, for what purpose and during what time frame. If a certain job title requires the need for a 24 hour City vehicle, tell us WHO gets it and WHY they need it. If it is logical and makes sense, no one will object. If it seems like just a perk... then it is time to eliminate that perk for good.
The City needs vehicles for employees to use in conducting business... but it doesn't need to offer the perk of a free car to very many employees at all.
• No 'back door' salary boosts (like Burnett's $2k for 'mileage')
This was a scam by the School Committee to screw the citizens of the City. They did it well... I certainly felt screwed by them. Let's eliminate these perks and insititue a simple mileage-based reimbursement plan for all elligeble employees.
• No City money to dredge Crystal Lake (at least not during this crisis)
Alas, I think that we should seriously limit any City funds on this project... unless we can do it for a very small amount of tax money to supplement grant money (the majority being from the grants).
• Do not permit a raise in Taxes to pay for the raise in union salaries - they knew they would lose jobs if they demanded the raises... so lose the jobs.
I have mixed feelings about this one. I feel the unions are not interested in what is best for the City or even the union members... they are looking out for the UNION. And the union really only is looking out for its senior members, as evidenced by the choice to increase salaries knowing that job loses will result... but only junior members will lose their jobs, the old guard will remain in place WITH a raise.
That being said, these folks, the rank and file union members, are the folks who teach our kids, douse our flames and protect our very lives when necessary. I do not welcome any misfortune to any of them.
• Hire a City-wide building manager in charge of ALL buildings (bulk purchasing and consolidated repair contracts)
This might be a good idea... it needs to be studied to see if indeed the cost savings would actually cover the expense of a new position. It might be a good place to put an existing employee who could take this on as a new primary duty, while also still performing other duties when time permits.
• Stop paying consultants to research ways to save money (not exactly sure what this poster is getting at on this one)
So from my previous response you might already know where this one is headed... You can't make good intelligent decisions based on gut instinct. That mentality has gotten us into the current quagmire we are in at home and all around the world. Facts, figures and analysis ARE the BEST TOOLS to use when facing a crisis... and this is a crisis.
City Hall
• Cut the Mayor's staff
and
• Have the Mayor fire his friends and kids
People forget that the City of Peabody would be a rather large corporation if it were a business. And because they forget this, they assume that it pretty much runs itself. I think that the Mayor's staff is pretty well sized for a municipality of this size. This suggestion smacks of just political posturing and cheap shots. Especially the point about friends and family. Again, if you have a specific complaint or suggestion... make it. Generalities don't cut it.
• No nonunion raises
I would prefer to see a merit based system of raises to reward good work... and not across the board increases.
That being said... to NOT adjust salaries to locally normal rates would encourage our workers to look for employment elsewhere. And even worse... the first ones to leave will be those who are the best employees (because they will find it easier to get a new position) leaving the City with only those not so good employees who don't deserve a raise in the first place.
• Close City Hall on Fridays (energy, staff cost savings)
and
• Cut the hours City Hall is open (not sure if poster meant more than just Friday)
Closing City Hall might save some money, but it would reduce the hours that the City is available to the general public... and I don;t like that very much. I also see problems with all union employees as they have a contract that specifies hours that they work and this would be changing that. Frankly, I would love to see the City go to a 4 day week for the majority of employees... with 2 days having evening hours (similar to Thursday) in order to allow, again, more time for the public to interact with the City when necessary. It would still save some heating/cooling/electricity costs... but offer the same number of working hours.
• Mayor takes a pay cut or no pay
and
• All paid elected officials accept no pay during this crisis
Even though these are similar, they really are different. The Mayor is a full time position. If we are going to ask someone to become a volunteer Mayor... they would need to know this long before they consider running for office. If we were to insist upon this as condition of our vote... we would end up with a tremendously abbreviated list of candidates... only those folks who are either independantly wealthy or who are retired and on some sort of pension. The idea of asking ANYONE during these times to give up their primary source of income is actually quite daft.
Now, for the part-time elected officials... I see this as more of a symbolic action, rather than a financial hardship. I would certainly look upon an official who does this with a certain amount of respect... but I would NOT insist that anyone do something like this.
Schools
• Remove the redundancies (School Dept vs City Hall)
and
• Consolidate redundant City Hall vs. School Dept services (accounting, HR, etc.)
This seems like something that shoould be done. It WILL, however, mean less separation between the School Department and City Hall... which might not be within the rules for how things are supposed to work. But since many folks have talked about htis in the past (I mean our elected officials) I am guessing that some sort of scheme can be arranged.
• Solar panels on Higgins renovated roof
This is probably a huge mistake. The latest I saw on the payback for photovoltaic systems was 15-20 years... up to 100 years! I have a better idea... let's install a wind farm along the ridge behind the Higgins and along the fields in front and provide enough energy to cover school and half of City government in the processes.
• Consolidate the elementary school by closing one or two
I think that this is an idea whose time has come. Demographics, economics and educational necessity might well demand it.
• Cut the 50 extra school employees
This is just another knee jerk reaction to a more complex problem. Life is seldom simple, and neither is the process of streamlining a school system. To say, last in first out, is cutting off your nose to spite your face... and will only hurt us all in the end.
OG says..
PI you must be exhausted...but let me ask my question again because it all of that dissertation you did not spell who had the power to make some of these cuts. Is it all at the Mayor's desk? Is it the City Council or School Committee? Is it department heads? And when I say power I am going to assume that some of these actions would require a 'vote' or some type of 'contract changes' or 'employment agreements'....many of our readers all want to 'blame' the Mayor but WHO (or WHOM) can actually makes these changes and HOW QUICKLY can that happen? WE need to get moving on them!!!!! These issues cannot go on like our city-union negotiations!! The doomsday clock is ticking.
OG says...
I love this excerpt because it oh so much tells it like it is...perhaps this could be another story line unto itself...
I have mixed feelings about this one. I feel the unions are not interested in what is best for the City or even the union members... they are looking out for the UNION. And the union really only is looking out for its senior members, as evidenced by the choice to increase salaries knowing that job loses will result... but only junior members will lose their jobs, the old guard will remain in place WITH a raise.
So is it really "love thy union brother" or is all about seniority, selfish survival and more money??? The next time you dues paying union members write your check ask yourself that question..
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