I’m a City Councilman. We are having difficulties. Trust me, it’s NOT fun to have to cut positions. These are all friends and relatives, and are suddenly out of a job.
We are barely able to meet our obligations, and then along comes three floods this year, losses of income, debts due, and a situation where we have to raise taxes YET AGAIN to fulfill our obligations. Think I like it? Hell no.
You might have a bigger town with a bigger budget and more dead weight than I’m dealing with, but please have a little sympathy, k?
When exactly did Government at any level become an employment haven for your friends and relatives?
I thought you existed to keep the water on, the streets paved, and the cops and firemen paid.
L
Actually, you’re right. That was a bit insensitive. Sorry.
When do us poor SOB's who pay for everything get any sympathy? Like Rush said today, when do we get to riot?
If your city provides defined benefit pensions, you should look carefully at ending the costly practice of subsidized early retirement. Not all state and local governments provide heavily subsidized early retirement. Defined benefit pensions where they exist in the private sector allow early retirement but at a substantial reduction in benefits. The typical reduction is 4 to 9% per year. There is no justification for providing heavily subsidized early retirement especially outside of law enforcement. Perhaps employment levels can be sustained with curtailment of subsidized early retirement.
BGH—it is hard for me to have sympathy.
I’ve had to do what you are doing—but in the private sector, and more than once.
Since 1982, we had to, every year, do more with less and with less people.
We had every consultant and flavor-of-the-month cost reduction guru pass our way.
One time we had a campaign to cut 40% of our expenses. So the boss of my division calls a meeting, and opens with, “So, how do we cut expenses 40%?”
Easy, says me, fire 40% of the people at this table. Problem solved.
That stupid program ended in a dismal failure to say the least—but that is what we have had to deal with.
Since 1982, American companies have had to deal with higher costs, over-regulation, and overseas competition.
Government just kept chugging along like it was 1969, getting bigger and bigger. A total disconnect from the realies faced every day by the tax paying public.
Now it’s your turn.
Welcome to the club.
Feels like crap, doesn’t it.
I’m a City Councilwoman as well, and we too have made some tough decisions. In order to keep our mill levy at the same rate we had to freeze hiring in all our departments including police. I didn’t like that because in tough economic times, crime DOES NOT go down.
The county, and the school district WAY raised their mill, and the library district is asking voters to approve a new library. We were the only ones to hold our mill levy down.
I don't mind paying more in taxes for emergencies and such so long as the frou-frou crap and unnecessary and excessive spending has been called into check or eliminated.
The small town was facing some budget problems when it was announced that a previously voted on salary increase for the mayor was going to come due. The aldermen had decided that the mayor's salary was way too low ($50,000ish) and over the next 4 years, it would be increased by $30,000. Meanwhile...city employees got their piddly 2% or 3% raise.
That's the kind of stuff that stinks. KWIM?