Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Busy Week
I don't really have time time to develop a couple of points, but I think I smell a sewer rat. Make that a Sewerage & Water Board Rat. Funny how the attrition level among city employees has been highest among those whose jobs can be outsourced, expensively outsourced at that. As any reader of this blog knows, the city lost eight of ten electrical inspectors after Katrina, leaving it with no choice but to contract out some of the work for as much as $700,000 a month. Now the Picayune reports that the S&WB is down to one meter reader, from twelve prior to Katrina. However, some of the work will be contracted out for $986,000 annually. I don't want to make too big a deal out of this, $968,000 annually is a lot less than up too $700,000 a month. However, that's only the contract for 137,000 east bank meters; just like the garbage contacts, it sounds like it could go up. Also like the garbage contacts, there's some kind of neato state-of-the art equipment involved; I suppose it will give us Disneyland-like billing.
Even though though $968,000 isn't all that much, I'm still curious about it. The total payroll costs for 12 employees in those positions would be between a third and half of that, closer to a third*. The equipment's just a few vans and crowbars. I don't get it it. I suppose that somebody could try to justify the cost of the contract by stating the cost if the S&WB had its full contingent of 25 meter readers and then promising no more estimates, contested readings verified with x many days, etc. Just like Disneyland.
I probably would be less suspicious if the a contract that begins Thursday had been reported earlier than Tuesday. I'd be happy (happier anyway) if you could look at the city's web site and see all RFP's. I have no idea whether bids were taken on this contract, to see what contracts the city is taking bids for, you're required to sign in as a vendor. Rob Couhig and the mayor spent the first hundred days of the mayor's second term working on greater transparency and they couldn't come up with a way to let ordinary residents who don't own businesses see how the city is planning to spend money. There's a word that comes to mind.
Like a said busy week, but the clean French Quarter is the distraction that took attention off the increased costs of garbage collection city wide. The mayor's promise was not to raise sanitation fees, he didn't say anything about taxes, exactly.
*If you assume the same costs as city council employees, it would be $400,000.
Even though though $968,000 isn't all that much, I'm still curious about it. The total payroll costs for 12 employees in those positions would be between a third and half of that, closer to a third*. The equipment's just a few vans and crowbars. I don't get it it. I suppose that somebody could try to justify the cost of the contract by stating the cost if the S&WB had its full contingent of 25 meter readers and then promising no more estimates, contested readings verified with x many days, etc. Just like Disneyland.
I probably would be less suspicious if the a contract that begins Thursday had been reported earlier than Tuesday. I'd be happy (happier anyway) if you could look at the city's web site and see all RFP's. I have no idea whether bids were taken on this contract, to see what contracts the city is taking bids for, you're required to sign in as a vendor. Rob Couhig and the mayor spent the first hundred days of the mayor's second term working on greater transparency and they couldn't come up with a way to let ordinary residents who don't own businesses see how the city is planning to spend money. There's a word that comes to mind.
Like a said busy week, but the clean French Quarter is the distraction that took attention off the increased costs of garbage collection city wide. The mayor's promise was not to raise sanitation fees, he didn't say anything about taxes, exactly.
*If you assume the same costs as city council employees, it would be $400,000.
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Ain't this transparency thing something? I mean, I never saw this coming. It was essentially invisible until it was too late, which is about as transparent as you can get.
So, how exactly is every water meter in the city going to be read to three decimal point accuracy? I smell arbitrary rate increases.
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# posted by 
: 12:38 PM
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