Friday, October 16, 2009
FURTHER PROOF OF BRILLIANCE
So who dreamed this up, and will Council go along? The city is “carefully considering blowing two million of our “surplus” tax dollars on city employee bonuses and to reinstate bulk trash pickup with another half million. Funny how public pressure can reverse a call for charging fees for trash pickup…can the same pressure stop the seven from “giving” our dollars away instead of returning it to the rightful owners or reducing debt? And just how will spending over $400,000 help fight gangs...maybe give the gangs a few bucks to behave? If you have better ideas for this surplus you best show up next Wednesday and speak your piece. Get this; one million would go only to “classified service city employees,” whatever they are, and Council Appointees who officials believe caused the surplus by cutting costs. Senior citizens will get no SOCIAL SECURITY inflation adjustments this year; they could use a few dollars from the city. Most every family in Suffolk has had to find ways to cut costs; where is their reward?
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The Sunday SNH Opinion Page will herald this as the best news for Suffolk's embattled over worked employees. They will explain how the city's already well paid, well ensconced, fully vested with Cadillac health and medical plan staff DESERVE more, and never mind that Selena needs a new Mercedes.
No one from the Newspaper that cares about Suffolk will likely put their name to this little piece of self-serving propaganda. Waving the bulk garbage collection fee is nothing more than a smoke screen to cover padding the wallets of those who make Selena and her city council look good. After next year's election bulk garbage fees will return along with a new monthly garbage fee to cover for SPSA's failure. I just can't wait to hear Mr. Reeves explain to his employees about their bonuses.
True there will be no increase in SS benefits. However Zero is offering all seniors a $250.00 one time "bribe" for a vote. If you looked up the word pawned in the dictionay, you would find a picture of seniors.
new city motto: It's a good time to LEAVE Suffolk.
This money does NOT belong to the city government. It still belongs to the people of the city and we say NO TO BONUSES! There is a surplus because you have OVERTAXED us. WHAT IS CITY COUNCIL THINKING??????
VOAI.....VOAI.....VOAI, Thre are no intitlements or bounses owed to or for the folks who think they are sitting at a table thinking they are the folks in the picture known as 'The Last Supper"
Suffolk City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn recommended to council members through a letter that the city absorb mid-year budget cuts to the city’s constitutional offices
What you are seeing here is money that was saved because there were no cost of living raises, positions that were budgeted for didn't get filled when they became available (so many offices are not running at full staff), in addition to only purchasing office supplies/equipment of the lowest quality.
This "extra" money is coming from the city employees that did not get a cost of living raise, lost their on call and overtime pay as well as the clothing allowance. The lost overtime and on call pay has cost my family @ 12,000 a year, and we are NOW required to be on call 24/7 (even when on vacation). It seems that this latest brilliant idea to give bonuses is going to kill what moral was left with the city employees. Talk about stealing from Peter to pay Paul.
According to Dave Forster the city budget is in good shape...a 1% margin of revenues over expenses. Budget Director Anne Sewerd agrees that it is encouraging and a surplus of millions is super. BUT she also cautioned against getting too excited. BUT even our bond ratings are good so let's see where council will blow it.
Is this any way to run a city? For the goofy people in charge to plan to spend the small amount they have in surplus from charging us all too much is a laugh. The regular city employees are taking a hit on raises and time, the citizens are taking a hit on taxes, and the upper level supervisors in the City demand a BONUS! This shows all that is truely wrong in the ay City Manager Cuffee-Glen sees things. Atleast with Steve Herbert we knew the knife was coming in the back, but with Glen you see her smile nicely, hear her calming words and then she hacks your head off without even flinching. Talk about poisoning the well you drink from, this woman is really good at it. I just retired from years with the City and am so happy to be out of there I can't even discribe it. Now if I could sell my house and move, I WOULD! This place is going to h#$# in a handbasket and it is going to get even worse with the mayor and eveyone else looking to feather their own beds, no mater the cost to others!
Suffolk is no longer a good place to live and raise a family!
By order of the city manager employees must strive to save in these tough times. The taxpayers must pay their taxes or lose their investment. The city has a perceived surplus (NO TELLING WHAT THE STATE WILL DO)and promptly gives it away in bonuses to the employees and community welfare. What about us poor working slobs that have to make do without just to pay our taxes? Do we get a measure of relief? Does this sound like rational thinking to you?
The new motto for Suffolk: "Just payup and shutup."
OR: "Suffolk - Pay to Play"
With this crowd now calling the shots it seems sure that they will have even more acts of brilliance for us before the holidays.
I commend the city for reducing its cost and ending up with a surplus of, what is it, something over 3 million, all involved deserve a pat on the back and not necessarily a cash bonus. Because truly this shows what can be done to reduce the cost of operations and to me city management should continue striving to do better. This did not cause me any pain, distress, lack of service and any of the other problems the news media speaks of when describing budget cuts. But then I didn't lose my job and if managers work at it, in most cases, employees should not lose theirs either with all the reduced hours, retirements, people leaving for other jobs or other reasons that can prevent layoffs. When the city has a surplus it should not be spent but carried over into the next year and each year do the same until possibly it could be use to prevent a tax increase and even to reduce a tax or fee.
I would not call it brilliance. I would call if what it really is and that is huberus and self absorbtion. We have to many scoundrels in charge on Market Street and that makes living in Suffolk harder each day! Where is integrity and open government that we were promised by the Mayor? Not here, not now, but needed more than ever.
It makes no difference when the elections are to be held. Local, state, or national,arrogance will be their undoing. The expressions of exasperation by Linda and Charles,Raleigh and the Democrat governor Timmy Kaine,Obama and liberals in general,Reid, Pelosi will be priceless!
After years of double digit increases in assesssments that bloated the ranks of our local government we reward them with a cash bonus for saving a miserly 3 million? I'm laughing because if I took them seriously I'd cry.
Brilliance or dim performance, it means nothing since they do have seats in the Big Chairs, so unless you are willing to change that you will get nowhere.
Time to rethink how all this works? Maybe, but we must overcome doing it the Suffolk way or we will pay dearly!
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