Tommy and Nancy – What a Pear

March 20, 2015

This from Helen Marshall:

The El Paso Times tells us (http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_27724729/city-manager-hires-former-co-worker-says-new) that the City of El Paso now has a new authority, the Chief Performance Officer, created by City Manager Tommy Gonzalez last November.  The position was filled by Nancy Bartlett, who worked for Gonzalez in Irving (and who will be reimbursed for trips back to North Texas in her initial six months, as her husband and mother are not moving to El Paso).  Bartlett’s base salary and benefits such as full-time use of a city vehicle top $200,000.  The job was not advertised as Gonzalez considers it to be an administrative decision that is within his authority, not that of council.  Bartlett’s total reimbursement will be higher than that of Deputy City Manager David Almonte, who has, possibly coincidentally, submitted his resignation.

Bartlett and Gonzalez are fans of a management setup called Sigma Six, which they tout as the key to making public administration more efficient.  “In the months to come, Gonzalez said, El Paso will begin to see changes that will improve the delivery of city services to the public and get the city staff excited about their jobs.”  If you suffer from insomnia, try reading this Wikipedia article about Sigma Six…and try to imagine life in Sigma Six El Paso.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma   The Strategic Plan, with its babble of Goals and sub-goals, is just the beginning of the excitement!

Bartlett’s expression in the photo accompanying the Times article leaves no doubt that she will be a match for Saint Joyce.

22 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

None of the below

March 18, 2015

The Times did it again.

Their Monday, March 16, 2015 on-line edition contained this survey:

timesculturalcenter

As we wrote in Bait and switch, incompetence, or fraud? the ballot called for the voters to fund a “Heritage” cultural center.  The Times is again trying to spin an issue.

Why?

I’m not against the idea of a museum that helps us remember our local history.  However I don’t understand how we can segregate our culture into a particular building.

Isn’t culture about our common beliefs and practices, our traditions, our facilities, our lifestyles?  Why do we need a building dedicated to our “culture” when we live it every day?

We deserve better

Brutus

11 Comments | City government, El Paso Times | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Alley oops?

March 17, 2015

The Times printed an article yesterday (Monday, March 16, 2015)  titled “USBC Open Championships in full gear at Downtown convention center turned bowling stadium”.

Stadium?

I thought they called those places bowling alleys.  I’ve never heard of a civic center hall becoming a stadium.  Neither has Webster’s dictionary.

Is this just another example of the Times trying to spin an issue?

No need

Then again if we take the Times at their word we already have a stadium downtown and don’t need a new one.

We deserve better

Brutus

3 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Another giveaway

March 15, 2015

The November 11, 2014 Mass Transit Board (Sun Metro) had another example of spending for spending’s sake.

Our new Brio system has problems with it’s mechanized ticketing system.  The ticket readers on the busses are not used.  Maybe they don’t work.  The result is that traveling on the Brio is based on the honor system.

Sun Metro tells us that from time to time they will have a monitor ride a Brio bus and check to see that the passengers have purchased tickets.  Sun Metro calls these folks “ambassadors”.

The penalty for not buying a ticket?  Right now you might get a stern verbal warning.

Ticket machines

Each Brio stop features a ticket vending machine.  These machines are supposed to accept cash and credit cards, but of course the credit card readers are not functioning.

At the November 11, 2014 meeting the board was asked to spend $117,000 for two new machines.  That works out to $58,500 each.

The reason?  They feel that they need a spare just in case of “catastrophic” damage to one of the existing units.  They will also use the spare as a training machine for their staff.  Keep in mind that members of the public don’t get training on how to use the machines but evidently their staff needs extra help.

They claim that they will eventually get the credit card portion working.  Remember that the regular fare is $1.50 and the fare for seniors is 30 cents.  We have to wonder how much Sun Metro will have to pay the credit card processors and what will be left to put tires on the busses.

We deserve better

Brutus

8 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

Losing a way to punish us

March 14, 2015

City staff made a presentation to city council about their budget status at the end of the first quarter of fiscal year 2015.

There was an interesting slide that revealed their thinking about public safety and revenue.

The Texas legislature passed a new law that combines the safety inspection issue with the license plate process.  We will still have to have our vehicles inspected.  Instead of getting a new windshield sticker we should receive a Vehicle Inspection Report from the inspection station and our successful test should be automatically registered with the state.

When we then renew our license plates the computer will be checked to make certain that the vehicle has been inspected.  If the computer has no record of the inspection we may present our Vehicle Inspection Report.

In theory this will make it more difficult to drive a vehicle that has not been inspected.

Our city finance people evidently have a somewhat different view of the results.  City revenues will be lower.  Take a look at this chart from the budget presentation:

q12015citybudget

Note that instead of saying that our policemen will no longer have to spend time checking vehicles to see if they are inspected.  Instead staff wrote “Police Department will not be able to cite for expired inspection sticker”.

One would think that our city budget folks would keep track of what the state is doing.

We deserve better

Brutus

6 Comments | City government, State Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus

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