Giddings continues questioning OT - March 9, 2010

Anne Giddings continued her fiscally conservative stance on overtime at the March 9 Council meeting:



And don't forget Friday's Meatball Madness GOP fundraiser!

Tim White

Giddings questions OT in February 2010

At the February 9, 2010 Council meeting, the fiscally conservative Anne Giddings continued her questioning of overtime:



Tim White

My suggestion to cut and reprioritize the TMO budget

The budget of the Town Manager's office was discussed tonight:The first item that drew attention was a favorite of Anne Giddings - overtime. The defense offered by the TM was that overtime has been reduced from $26,000 three years ago to only $14,000 today. Frankly though, the overtime in the TMO was a lesser concern to me. I had another suggestion tonight for the TMO. I said something along these lines:

In an effort to:

1) minimize taxes and spending; and
2) align tax dollars with services for taxpayers...

What would be the impact if the Council:

1) increased the school budget by $50,000 (or one teacher)
2) increased police overtime by $25,000*
3) reduced overall spending by $30,000

by way of the Council defunding the position of:

Personnel Director / Assistant Town Manager?

The response from staff was puzzling. Two points were made:

1) Ten years ago the former TM spent $50,000 to negotiate the union contracts; and

2) If employee qualifications are a concern, executive session is a better forum for that discussion.

I didn't bother continuing the discussion, but offer a few thoughts here:

1) Union contracts are typically negotiated every three years. So even with additional unions and increases in attorney fees, I still suspect the attorney fees - incurred one of every three years - would be less than the $315,000 for three years of salary for the PD / ATM position; and

2) I didn't mention employee qualifications. I simply asked about the need for the position of PD / ATM. Similarly, I suggested the currently unoccupied position of Assistant Town Planner / Zoning Enforcement Officer also be defunded... at least for six months. Then, if necessary, someone could be hired on January 1, 2011.

I think my suggestion to minimize taxes & spending and to focus tax dollars on services that benefit taxpayers makes sense.

Tim White

* Several people have told me that last week alone there were two officers who sent out their resumes and were offered police jobs within 24 hours. And does anyone think it'll stop there? I certainly don't. And barring dramatic changes, I expect more officers to do the same with significant increases needed in the overtime budget.

Giddings questions OT in January 2010

If you're looking for a fiscal conservative on the Council, Anne Giddings has been consistently questioning overtime since she took office. Here she is questioning OT back in January:



Tim White