Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "It's Hard To Keep Track":
"Many staff hours were spent re-writing an agreement that was entirely contrary to the municipality's interest."
BUT... the staff are not there to determine what is the Town's interest or not. The staff would have spent many hours doing something else instead. This is piece of fluff to help you make a point about something that happened a long time ago and is not on the table now.
Something that councillors - present and future should remember. Talking about how much time staff spends doing their job is moot. Staf are paid to work 5 days a week / 7.5 or 8 hours a day. With exceptions for vacations and holidays, they show up to work and do "something". That something can be writing documents for a project that is misguided or a project that is the best thing for the Town. The fact is, their time is paid for - EVEN IF THEY DO NOTHING ALL DAY. To say that $x was spent doing documents for the hydro building is an insult to my intellegence.
The only time that staff costs should be brough up is in the case of overtime. Overtime should be used when there is a specific deadline and the job can't be done to meet it.
However, there used to be a joke about municipal workers. "Why don't municpal workers look out the window in the mornings? Because if they did, they would have nothing to do in the afternoons".
Stick to the real facts and stop trying to pad your argument with fluff.
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Tuesday night was gruelling The meeting went from 6 pm until 11.15 pm .
But that was not all.
The issues were significant. Preparation to debate mega millions in spending
is tense .The greater the price tag,the greater the tension.
But that was not all.
The comment I have chosen to feature above reflects a point of view which I do not share but is
not unusual.
On one notable occasion former Councillor Kean used it when outgoing Councillor MacEachern moved for a re-count after the 2003 election.
I had come in ahead of incumbent Councillor David Griffith by about forty-nine votes.After a fourteen year absence.
Former Councillor MacEachern had trouble accepting the result. After my registration, she
had withdrawn as a candidate because she had better things to do like spend time with her children.
Despite an estimate of $21,000. Councillor Kean argued the re-count was not a cost to taxpayers because staff were being paid anyway.
The Councillor was certain of his logic and aggressive in its presentation. Just like the commenter
above. More than once he complained the Council meeting were eating into his drinking time At the
Legion.
Is Council aware that when they go into closed session part way through the meeting, Rogers leaves and does not return, Their usual abysmal programs just go on, most of them likely repeats.
ReplyDeleteResponse from Nigel to the last shot in 3 - 2 - 1...
ReplyDeleteWow... really? This is your logic?
ReplyDeleteGuest commenter states: "they show up to work and do "something". That something can be writing documents for a project that is misguided or a project that is the best thing for the Town. The fact is, their time is paid for - EVEN IF THEY DO NOTHING ALL DAY. "
Can a government be it town, regional, provincial or federal afford to have its staff "do nothing all day"? For a business, it certainly can't afford it. Those people end up getting cut loose if they are not deemed contributing to the betterment of the business. If the town continually has its staff writing documents for misguided projects then it's an utter waste of taxpayers' money and the someone is making the wrong decisions in directing the staff and/or the town is overstaffed and underworked. In any operation, you should be coming up with multiple ideas, researching their possibilities and moving ahead with the best. But too many misguided ideas eventually sinks the ship. Perhaps this is the difference between government and business.
Do we need a political cartoon here showing a "Help Wanted" sign and the caption "New town staff needed to write more misguided reports. Ability to unnecessarily stretch out timelines, budgets and project goals an asset."
Where do I sign up?
(I write this with no malice to town staff but in response to the commenter's reasoning.)
Your poster is pretty accurate except that when staff are regularly made busy on useless projects such as staff reports requested by councillors, who are too lazy or incompetent to check the facts for themselves, other work such as legitimate requests from taxpayers get in the bottleneck.
ReplyDeleteWhen the CAO asks department heads at year end about staffing hands are extended requesting new resources because existing staff are so busy. And on it goes year after year.
I can't figure Nigel out. He must kick himself for not running for a spot as a councillor last time. He likely could have been elected and then he would be inside the tent instead of snarling outside.
ReplyDeleteWe are okay as long as we do not spell his last name wrong.
ReplyDeleteI read his letter in last week's Auroran. He really is becoming a bitter old man.
ReplyDeleteAhh...not that I'm a great fan of Nigel, but he does bring up some vary good points in his letter. Minus the comment about the money spent on the Aurora's Birthday celebration. Hope there's going to be another candidate for Mayor come September. Gallo isn't an option for me either.
ReplyDelete14:04
ReplyDeleteI never said that they do NOTHING ALL DAY, however if they show up for work and there is nothing to do, they will do nothing.
Now, most staff level people do not question the merit of a task as being misguided or not. That is not their job. So they will work on whatever they are tasked with.
7:46
ReplyDeleteI am considering leaving that position out of the mix when I vote. Haven't thought it through yet but there is still adequate time.