Maybe delay is a good thing.
Take a look at this picture of what our new westside pool will look like if they ever get around to building it:
Kind of Cold War Soviet bland if you ask me.
We deserve better
Brutus
Westside pool project in trouble again
September 13, 2015As Gomer Pyle used to say “surprise, surprise, surprise!”
Item 13.2 on city council’s Tuesday, September 15, 2015 consent agenda reads:
Request rejection of all proposals received for Solicitation No. 2015-727R for Construction of Westside Pool as recommended by the Purchasing & Strategic Sourcing and Capital Improvement Departments.
It is no surprise that the backup information does not give us a reason.
Evidently seven local firms placed bids.
We approved the quality of life bonds in 2012. It is now three years later.
Could it be that the people who put the bond proposals together were wrong? City council already killed some projects that we had approved so that they could fund this swimming pool.
We deserve better
Brutus
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City government | 
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Posted by Brutus
Allowance for fabrication
September 12, 2015The bankruptcy judge has instructed our county hospital and the children’s hospital to negotiate.
No one has come forward with an explanation that makes sense as to why the children’s hospital has to pay rent to the county hospital when the voters are paying for the construction of the children’s hospital with bonds.
It seems that the county found a way to get paid for something that we are already paying for.
If I am correct our county hospital administrator recently said that the payments were not actually for rent. Instead they were to pay for the inevitable depreciation and wear and tear on the building over the next several years.
If so
If that were the case we could expect to see the amount placed in reserve on the county hospital’s financial statements. It wouldn’t be right to spend that money on regular county hospital expenses. I don’t see such a reserve on their statements.
Also if they need to collect for the eventual refurbishing of the children’s hospital as a matter of sound financial governance they we should expect to see the county hospital accruing money in a similar fashion for their own building. I don’t see anything like that on their financials either.
We deserve better
Brutus
4 Comments | County Government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Weakening the mayor
September 11, 2015The proposed changes to our city charter are more sweeping than we are being told.
We already have a weak mayor form of government. The mayor cannot vote on items except in the case of a tie. On week-to-week items that makes the mayor less important than the city representatives.
One of the few powers that the mayor has left is when dealing with the city attorney. The mayor appoints and terminates a city attorney as long as he has the votes of the majority of city council.
Proposed amendment number six would make the council responsible for the appointment and termination of the city attorney (without the mayor’s involvement) and the mayor would not be able to veto the termination of the city attorney.
We deserve better
Brutus
9 Comments | City government | Permalink
Posted by Brutus
Freshman Baloney
September 10, 2015One of our new city representatives is now claiming that she did not know that she is required to make all emails and text messages that she sends or receives on her personal electronic accounts available to the city.
Why not?
Even those of us that live under rocks know that the city has gone through a lengthy battle about this issue over the last few years. One would think that someone who wants to be a city representative would have followed that battle and would know what the requirements are.
It is also hard to believe that new council members are not given training about what their powers and responsibilities are.
We deserve better
Brutus
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Posted by Brutus
elpasospeak 
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