Stopping in at Taco Bell the other day for breakfast I asked the cashier if they offered a “senior coffee”.
His response was yes. When he presented the bill it looked to be too low. Upon inquiry he told me that they normally provide the senior coffee for free.
The coffee was good.
Brutus
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Posted by Brutus
Those of you who from time to time watch portions of our city council meetings have probably noticed that more and more often important agenda items are read by the city clerk and then voted on with absolutely no discussion.
The results are being wired beforehand.
We deserve better
Brutus
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Posted by Brutus
This came in from Chico:
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Posted by Brutus
Yesterday’s (Monday, October 2, 2017) county commissioners court agenda has two more examples of why our local governments often end up paying too much for what they buy.
In both agenda items the county had gone out for bids for electronic office equipment.
In a bid for printers nine bids were tabulated according to the backup material
The bid for document scanners had 13 bids.
After receiving and evaluating the bids the county information technology department is asking the court to cancel the bids.
From the backup material:
Through several hardware refresh cycles over the past four years, ITD has experienced success by standardizing on a single (scanner/printer). This solution has shown to be highly reliable and sustainable, requiring lower maintenance costs, and user training. Most importantly, standardization allows for universal compatibility with our operating systems and applications throughout County offices and departments. At this time, ITD will work to verify with technical staff that this model will fit the demonstrated need for our users and proceed with other procurement options when ready.
They knew before they went out for bids that they wanted to standardize. They wasted the time and resources of 22 bidders. They will now pick their supplier and buy through a buy board.
The result will be fewer and less competitive offers next time because the bidders won’t go through the trouble of bidding when they know the county just wants to do a price check.
We deserve better
Brutus
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Posted by Brutus
This came in from a resident of the neighborhood that would be affected by the proposal:
It uses the same bait and switch technique that the city has been using for years.
The text of the document tells us that the purpose of the meeting is “to inform the public of plans for the installation a a bike lane along Escondido Drive from Resler to Broadmoor”.
The graphic however shows the bike lane running from Resler to Los Robles. The link provided on the meeting notice shows the bike lane going all the way up to Broadmoor and then back down Thunderbird.
We saw the same kind of thing when we voted on a proposed “Heritage Cultural Center” that later became an “Hispanic Cultural Center”. Now the city refers to it as a “Mexican American Cultural Center”.
The multipurpose performing art and entertainment center that we voted on is now “the arena”. According to news reports the city manager at the time knew that letting the public know that the facility would be used for sports would hurt its chances of passing.
Escondido from Los Robles to Broadmoor is narrow and steeply uphill. Residences on much of the length have little parking and short driveways. Cars park on both sides of the street and narrow the usable roadway even more.
The meeting notice did not ask for public input. Instead its purpose is to inform the public.
It might be a good idea to attend the meeting and inform the city staff of what you think.
We deserve better
Brutus
15 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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