FIRE DEPARTMENT CONTRACT REFORM
Someone with a humorous bent did a “station to Station” conversation with some of the fireman who he or she thinks have a lot of time o their hands and are annoyed by the spotlight now on their pay, pensions, and benefits. We took them off the blog because they were so voluminous. We have decided to provide them as a LINK for your light reading.
December 1st, 2008
NSBShadow.com....
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1. Our local radio station, WSBB (The Nostalgia Station) 1230 on the AM dial, features good music for all types. At this time of the year you can probably listen to both golden oldies and Christmas carols. It is a local station with local ads. You do not have to listen to the talk show hosts if you do not like them because you can push the button for something else, like classical music on WMFE (90.7 FM). The rest of the stations around here are in the LINK.
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2. We think that asking the City Manager to show how the budget can be cut for individual departments is amusing. When he asked a year ago, the Fire Department Chief stone walled him. The only cuts he suggested was that he could cut some costs by stopping the abuse of sick leave. We were curious at the time whether the Chief had read the submittal before sending it. We were not surprised that the City Manager made him stop the abuse immediately.
3. Another ad, probably at $850 dollars, for Bert Fish in the Observer. First, we found it odd that a hospital would advertise for Thanksgiving business. But secondly, the Observer is wholly owned by the wife of one of the Board of Directors of Bert Fish, and some one less generous than the Shadow might just think of this another $850 payment to a person who should not receive money directly or indirectly from the taxpayers via the hospital. The first two editions of the Observer each had, if we recall, $850 full page ads.
W-2S REVISITED
The W-2's published over the last few weeks are again presented this week as an EXCEL file so that you can manipulate the data as you wish. Additionally, we provide a number of analyses regarding pay and benefits. We have added charts in columns showing each employee and the percentage of increase that includes the benefit package for each employee.
“Best Blogs of the Week”
(Edited for grammar and punctuation)
A POTPOURRI OF CITIZEN COMMENTS IS
AGAIN PROVIDED THIS WEEK IN ORDER
FOR YOU TO GET IN TUNE WITH THE
MOOD OF OUR READERS
Friday, 11/28/08, 8:21 AM I think the negative comments about individual City Commissioners are just an indication of the frustration that many people have with the City Commission, and how the City is being operated in general. And instead of offering something constructive on how to change things in the City; some people just revert to personal attacks. But you know, you see the same type of thing coming out of the Fire Union too. With them, its always a case of: SHOOT THE MESSENGER, rather than offering something constructive. In fact, all they have been doing since the Shadow.com first showed up, is to attack Litt, and try to shut this website down. Frankly, I think their tactics in that regard, only fanned the flames of the fire that may eventually consume them. And Lets face it, Firefighter Pension reform is now #1 on the City Manager's Agenda, where just a year ago, nobody even thought it was a problem. The Golf Course is another issue that is being addressed due to the Shadow.com. Surely nobody believes that the City Commission would have taken the actions it has in regards to the City's Golf Course, had the Shadow.com not published the fact that the City has been losing 100's of thousands of taxpayers dollars every year operating a Golf Course? The same can be said with FF's pay, the Water Taxis, the UC and a whole bunch of other issues that confront this City. So frankly, I believe there is a need for this Website. Of course, there isn't a need to get nasty about any of these issues either. But that goes for both sides.
Tuesday, 11/25/08, 5:28 AM Tiki hut first off if you get out of your house and drive over there you will see a permit posted second if you go to the building department you will find blue prints for the Tiki hut thirdly the eagle scout is not a relative of randy get your facts straight before you post
Tuesday, 11/25/08, 5:09 AM Green for Cash describes Clay Henderson perfectly.
Tiki Tuesday, 11/25/08, 7:45 AM TO 5:25 - I think the other guy was right and the eagle scout is Randy's son.
Tuesday, 11/25/08, 6:19 PM Munchkins; Ding Dong! The IAFF is dead! Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch! Ding Dong! The Wicked UNION is dead. Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed. Wake up, the Wicked UNION is dead. Its gone where the goblins go, Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out. Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low. Let them know The Wicked UNION is dead! Mayor; As Mayor of the Munchkin City, In the County of the Land of Oz, I welcome you most regally. Barrister; But we've got to verify it legally, to see, If its, morally, ethic'lly, Spiritually, physically. Positively, absolutely Undeniably and reliably Dead! Coroner: As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined it. And its not only merely dead, its really most sincerely dead.....Mayor: Then this is a day of Independence For all the Munchkins and their descendants Yes, let the joyous news be spread The wicked Old Union at last is dead!
1. Tuesday, 11/25/08, 2:17 PM What I found interesting is the format of the "phone bills". I believe the City uses Nextel and their bills don't look like what Litt posted. Couldn't have been any manipulation before posting could there...?
NOTES
1. The City uses AT&T and the original LINKs were directly to those bills. Any more “suggestions” that these were not calls by Clay Henderson on some client’s bill at probably $500 an hour (only the Utilities Commission we figure receives the “reduced” rate of $375 an hour). Look at the original records and you, the readers who are paying high utility rates, call the numbers and see who answers. By the way, if you wish to do a little bit of work, see if you can pair frequency and timing of the calls to Commission agenda items.
2. Bankruptcy Court in case of Vallejo, California, has set hearings on the City’s motion to se aside its employee contracts. Hearings are set for early February. see LINK for Court order.
3. The City bank statements from August 1, 2008 to October 15th, showed a decrease in total assets of $7,000,000 dollars. It decreased from about $42 million to $35 over the 10 week period. Now that the 2008 taxes are being collected, the property tax will replenish the combined asset account. A few thoughts. The amount coming in are replenishing it appears reserves that were spent down over the last few months. We estimate that as possibly at about $8 million in short fall for 2008. It will leave precious little to spend in 2009. It could portend huge deficits for 2009 if spending cuts, way in excess of 10%, are not immediately made.
NSB POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT’S BUDGETS; COMPARISONS
Ask what we were paying for Police in 2002; $5,025,391.....Today, we are spending $6,737,536...for the same number of Police Officers. AN INCREASE OF $1,712,145.......
Its the same for the Fire Department; In 2002, we spent $3,385,007 for our Fire Department, today, we are spending $5,742,225 for the same number of firefighters.......AN INCREASE OF $2,357, 218.....
NOW,....look at the Streets Budget; In 2002, we spent $1,514,250, and today, we spend $1,776,651. AN INCREASE OF $262,401......
For Public Works Administration; in 2002, we spent $279,505, today its budget is; $304,175. AN INCREASE OF $24,670.......
City Attorney; in 2002, its budget was $197,618, today its $507,886. AN INCREASE OF $310,248
( And this is what Randy worries about?)
Finance; In 2002, its budget was $824,984, and today its $504,424..... But then again, we broke-up the Finance Department, and created an IT Department and a Human Resources Department several years ago, and their budget's today are IT: $293,029, and HR: $156,370. So combined, these three departments cost us $953,823 today, versus $824,984 in 2002.
AN INCREASE OF $128,839........
City Clerk/Asst City Manager/City Manager/City Commission; Today, the City Clerks Budget is $194,383, the City Manager's Budget is $276,035, the City Commission's Budget is $183,828. Total Cost: $654,246.....While just 3 years ago, we spent $397,866 on the Asst. City Manager/City Clerk, $278,215 on the City Manager, and $175,388 on the City Commission. Combined this is a total of $851,469.......A DECREASE OF $197,223.......
SO WHERE DID THE BUDGET GO UP, AND WHERE DID IT GO UP A LOT? AND WHERE DID IT GO DOWN?......AND TELL ME IF ITS WORTH IT.........?
STATION #18, WHERE ARE YOU?
We had trouble getting a map of Volusia County Fire Station #18. Not a lot of trouble, but a little since it is located in Flagler County and seems to be a shared station out in the forested area to the far North. LINK
Now this station’s staffing is three to a shift and in the six months of statistics supplied originally had only about nine calls a month. Total calls for all fires and all med/vac. In the new stats supplied they show 79 calls or 13 calls a month—three (3) per week . We asked for the short narratives (they are usually less than 100 words each) of any house fires or extrications. Statistically we did not think they has either a house fire or an auto wreck where they needed special equipment to get some one out of a vehicle, but we thought that it was a minimum request for info and we would get back a short E-Mail. It is all on computers and both the State and the Feds could supply it we believe with a flick or two of a computer key. Probably free. No way. Each it turns out is “10 pages” and it is $82 to copy them. Hooey. We do not have to prove they are over staffed. How do they tell their day’s off from their work days? They probably want boredom pay like out at the airport.
As it collects less and less money as the cost of fuel decreases, the City collects less and less taxes from you. Of course they will make sure that they need more money by continuing to bail out what looks like failing businesses of their friends and sweet heart contracts with their CEO.
THE LOOTING IS IN FULL SWING
1. THE LOOTING THROUGH SWEET HEART CONTRACTS.
Mayor Sally Mackay and Commissioner Richenberg have been ranting and raving about Frank B. Gummey’s severance pay contract. At least two Commission meetings and a workshop or two were held to let them vent their displeasure with Gummey’s contract. They do not like it, and if you listen to them at the meetings, they really do not like it. Apparently. they like an even richer one given to the CEO at the Utilities Commission. Yes after five years of what sure looks like poor management yje Commission can not blame the highest electric rates in Central Florida on the long gone prior City Manager.
These City Commissioners have not said a word about the November 10th determination by the Utilities Commission to give the CEO at the Utilities Commission a similar sweet heart contract that looks like Gummey’s. Since Sally’s husband is on the Board of Directors of the Utilities Commission we believe she knew, or we think she should have known, what they planned before hand. We suspect that Richenberg did not even ask for for a copy of it and we are willing to bet that Richenberg is unaware that Rodi is paid between $165,000 to $175,000 salary, as well as his pension, benefits, and many perks. The cute part is that it is ”only” an “amendment” LINK:to the 2006 contract where the pay and benefits provisions are in “paragraph 6” of the earlier contract. LINK. As we said, we think his current pay taps out at about $175, 000 a year, excluding pensions, benefits and bonuses we believe he might have gotten for doing such a great job. On top of that they sort of hid what they were doing. Tells you something, doesn’t it. The current amendment is a gas, because it is a three year contract and the severance provisions are triggered if one criticizes him. Just like Gummey, huh.
Now consider that Gummey was and is a successful lawyer who had to be enticed to work for the City because his predecessor had been fired without cause. Rodi on the other hand was a “consultant” for Bell South when Dieson “found” him. Some times the word consultant on a resume means “unemployed”, but here since one of the beneficiaries of what we consider how the Commission has fared over the last five years has been Bell South, we think he was working for them. He left the employ of two other utilities (Sioux Falls, Iowa, and Lakeland, Fla.) after only one or two years each on the job. He has managed to spend gobs of money on consultants. We believe that an executive who can not figure out how to lower rates in five years should be let go. Instead they voted him a sweet heart contract.
They give a sweet heart contract to an employee who we suspect could not leave for another job. We think that there is no market for a CEO like our CEO. But, as we have said, the Utilities Commission provides a sweet heart contract worth at least half a million dollars that is triggered as severance pay if anyone criticizes him. The Shadow believes this is a form of looting. It is no different than all of the consultant contracts that they used to convert one of the best utilities into one of the worst.
2. LOOTING THROUGH QUESTIONABLE CONSULTING CONTRACTS.
As we showed last week, the looting of the Utilities Commission is in full swing. Before the taxpayers wise up and insist that it stops, they will take all the money they can get and run for the cracks in the floor while it is still dark or they think you are not paying attention. We featured last week the open ended contract for $250,000 of unspecified “legal services” (at the “reduced” hourly rate of $375) for Holland & Knight and printed the telephone calls from one of its partners to the City Commissioners. We do not believe that those calls by Clay Henderson were solely for “legal services” but we will refrain from labeling them. Nor do we know who paid for them in the past at $500 an hour, but we will try to connect the dots for you next week. The efforts to make it look OK because he is a home-town boy who is knowledgeable about City property ignores that the Utilities Commission needs no “unspecified legal” services from any body. This is just a give away for services that the Commission does not need. As for Clay Henderson, he seems to be one of those admirable souls who is “Green” until a developer shows up with real money. They must have stopped paying him so he needed a rescue from the taxpayers through the Utilities Commission.
15% of your bill goes directly to the city
DEAR JOHN
We know of the limited resources available to John Hagood, the City Manager, and to his inability to get all of the important letters written that he would like to send. So we decided to help him and provide him drafts that will simplify his tasks and free him up for more important tasks.
TO: Mayor Mackay
FROM: John Hagood, City Manger
Dear Sally,
Thank you for setting out goals for me. I have always wanted to address the Fire Department’s pension plan. I know that they helped you and stepped up to the plate at the last negotiations by dropping their demand for a 10% retroactive pay increase for fiscal 2008, but the public did not see that as a very big concession since we gave them a 3% retroactive raise and also gave in on the mandatory overtime (four hours each pay period at time and a half). I will try to do better this year, but please ask Randy not to say he did not understand the budget and is “ashamed” he voted for it after he votes for it. It makes the City look bad. The staff is willing to sit down with him individually and explain the budget to him this time around.
Your friend,
John
