Double negatives

October 17, 2019

The city hired an out of town firm to conduct a study of our downtown parking situation.

You can read it here.

The print is very light and difficult to read.

We did find this gem:

The consultants wrote:

We found numerous instances of overly worded and bureaucratic language  throughout all sections of the El Paso Code of Ordinances.  The use of double negatives and confusing language makes reading and understanding the code very difficult for the average citizen.

According to plan

This is part of how the functionaries down at the city maintain their power.

Will this out of town firm ever be hired again?

We deserve better

Brutus

6 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Award for innovation

October 16, 2019

One of our loyal readers sent this in with the note “You can’t make this up”.

From El Paso Inc.

The National Procurement Institute has awarded the city of El Paso Purchasing & Strategic Sourcing Department the 2019 Achievement of Excellence in Procurement Award. The award is earned by public and nonprofit organizations that obtain a high application score based on innovation, professionalism, e-procurement procedures, productivity and leadership. It is the sixth year in a row that the city has received the award.

Many of us can say first hand that they are innovative.

We deserve better

Brutus

10 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

False promise

October 15, 2019

The city is adopting a new parking app named “Park 915”.

This slide is part of a presentation that will be made in a special city council meeting Monday, October 14, 2019.

Real time?

Supposedly the app will allow us to parking spaces that are available at the moment we look.

How can it do that?

If someone parks a vehicle in a spot and ignores the electronic app the spot is still going to be occupied.

We can see that the app could tell us if a spot is supposed to be unoccupied but confirming that a spot is open will require visual confirmation or electronic sensors.

Is this another case of over-promising?

 

We deserve better

Brutus

8 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Lost dog proposal

October 14, 2019

The slide below is what city staff is recommending that the city do relative to the “Lost Dog Trail” and other land where we voted with the following language to create an ordinance:

Shall an ordinance be approved to preserve in its natural state, for all time, the 1,107 acres
owned by the City of El Paso and referred to as “Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone Number
Twelve,” which includes the “Lost Dog Trail,” and to prohibit, for all time, any private development and
any major public roadways on said 1,107 acres?

This seems reasonable to me.  I think it says that the city would not have to buy the land and that after the restrictive covenants are created the land will be preserved.

I assume that changing the covenants would require city council action and supposedly the public would have an opportunity to weigh in at that time.

What do y’all think?

We deserve better

Brutus

8 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Comments don’t require sign on

October 13, 2019

We saw some activity the other day from a reader who was complaining about his password to WordPress having to be reset multiple times.

It is not necessary to sign on to WordPress in order to make a comment.

Just follow the comments link below the post.

We deserve better

Brutus

 

1 Comment | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Saturday

October 12, 2019

Saturday is open topic day.

Let us hear from you.

We deserve better

Brutus

 

 

17 Comments | Uncategorized | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Declining birth rate

October 11, 2019

El Paso is seeing a declining birth rate like most of the nation.

The county hospital shows these numbers for their first ten months of operation each year:

2017  2,458 births

2018  2,311 births

2019  2,200 births

That’s a 10.5% drop in two years.

Yet we continue to build new schools.

We deserve better

Brutus

 

4 Comments | El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

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