- Injustice in Housing is a Life or Death Matter
- The library: a recession sanctuary?
- Nutter should get credit where credit's due
- Thursday Counter-Protest at "We Stand with Israel" Rally
- This Saturday: hearing of Mayor's Task force on Ethics
- Why do we fund this?
- ABC debuts "Homeland Security USA"
- Library Closings: They Have Never Really Been About The Budget Crisis
- DA's Job to Prosecute Environmental Crime
- Is the number of branch libraries in Philly significantly out of line with cities of comparable size?
Elections Matter
Submitted by Dan U-A on Tue, 10/21/2008 - 9:28am.
As Philly struggles with looming financial doom, our three newest Councilmembers are showing that elections matter:
Today, Council members Bill Green, Maria Quinones-Sanchez, and Curtis Jones, all freshmen, released 15 legitimate, thoughtful, progressive-oriented ways to save the city money in light of these hard economic times. (Mayor Nutter has said that "everything is on the table" when it comes to needed cuts.)
The best thing about the 15 ideas is that they are sure to make entrenched bureaucrats sitting on fluffy patronage jobs a bit uncomfortable. For example, the council members suggest increasing car sharing (alleged savings $2.72 million annually), cutting all but necessary travel (alleged savings $100,000 annually), banning swag and custom printing (alleged savings $100,000 annually), and hiring more auditors (alleged savings nearly $3 million annually).
It's actually appalling that many of the suggestions aren't already in use. One, for example, is switching to the electronic transfer of funds (alleged savings $2 million annually) from the state to the city. The city still accepts paper checks, which get lost, thereby losing interest! You've got to be kidding.
Another suggestion is the electronic sending of all reports and memos. Bill Green attached a letter that was mailed to his office -- which costs, of course, 42 cents -- from someone inside City Hall (alleged savings $25,000 annually).
The mail and the direct deposit stuff are really only-in-Philadelphia type moments. Of course, when your government complains about how hard it is to publish voting returns...
Anyway, it is cool to see the three new Council members continue their buddy-buddy ways with real solutions. I am not saying that our more tenured politicians cannot come up with good ideas, because I am sure they can. But there is little question that three sets of fresh eyes is doing us a lot of good.
The City Paper has more, including their whole list of ways to save.
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Geez, I don't know
Let's see. Cutting library hours or requiring more car-sharing. Tough choice.
LOL
I'm sure if the City uses e-mail 100% and drops the use of Kinko's for any specific reason, and uses store brand pencils and Bics instead of fancy office supplies, that they'll come up with the projected $450MM shortfall for the next 5 years.
Forget about City employees doing nothing but coming in late, making $90,000 a year, and wearing short skirts in the summer...
And that 450 number was estimated before the credit markets shut down and the banks froze up... the new conservative estimate is closer to $1BN.
Again, the money is there. Shut down the Redevelopment Authority; since NTI is dead, the organization is useless, and start selling off all those houses and dead commercial buildings that the City has no hope of ever turning into any profitable purpose whatsoever. With the massive payroll and benes cut plus the sales of the properties involved, you got your billion dollars right there.
And you don't have to cut any other special programs. In fact, you could probably increase other programs and pay for more cops by getting rid of RDA.
Efficiency in the office
I can testify to the fact that at least one City Hall council office (the one I work in, of course) is conscientious of the money you can save by purchasing generic office supplies and stationery. Most of the staffers here hold on to their pens and pencils like a starving children clutching bowls of rice. I know I didn't get my pens from the office stash, because we don't have one - I bring my own supply from home :-)
Paper conserving practices leave much to be desired, however - you'd be surprised at the amount we (read: other staffers) waste.
Just my two cents from the office of Council_____ _____!
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- All politics is local.