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Summer is over.
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The November elections will be important. Please do your part to inform others.
Brutus
Employee savings plan
September 2, 2018One of the problems with the city allowing employees to accumulate unused vacation and sick days until they retire is that the city pays them out at the employee’s current pay rate, not the rate the employee was paid when they got the days.
We deserve better
Brutus
2 Comments | 
City government | 
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Posted by Brutus
Another problem for EPISD?
September 1, 2018If it turns out the the birth rate decline lasts for a while I wonder what EPISD will do to handle the enormous decrease in student population.
A 20% decline for an entire quarter represents 5% fewer students five years from now.
Obviously if the decline lasts an entire year the district will have 20% fewer students entering kindergarten and the effect will be felt for twelve years.
We deserve better
Brutus
16 Comments | El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Deep in debt
August 31, 2018The city’s 2017 comprehensive annual financial report is now available on the web.
One of the sad things it shows is that the city raised $251,591,361 from property taxes last year.
They spent $95,734,979 on debt service.
That means that 38% of our property taxes are going to pay for things that we owe money for.
We deserve better
Brutus
10 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Maximizing effectiveness
August 30, 2018From an EPISD report:
In addition to the 2016 bond funds described above, EPISD has transferred available 2007 Bond Funds for Andress High School ($10.2M) and Irvin High School ($25.6M) into Jacobs’ management scope of work in order to maximize the effectiveness of those dollars in a cohesive plan for each of those campuses.
Most of us realize that we are in the year 2018. The bond money being transferred was approved by the voters in 2007.
Eleven years later they are thinking of doing something with it.
Many of us think that maximizing effectiveness of the 2007 money would have meant using it sooner or not asking for it in the first place.
We deserve better
Brutus
10 Comments | El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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