Dear Peter,
Last week Jean Diederich, the President of AFSCME Local 34, asked all
candidates for County Commissioner what they would do to maintain the
existing level of service and the existing level of employees with a budget
deficit and cuts in State and Federal funding. My analysis and suggestions
follow. Would it be useful for readers of the List who have followed this
campaign to see your suggestions and compare?
Leadership shows by example.
>From 2000 to 2002, when most of us were tightening our belts, the County
Commissioners raised their personal budgets by 19.3%. During that same
period the County Administrator raised the budget for her office by 77%.
When the budget crisis became apparent this summer, the Commissioners made a
great public show of cutting all departments ("Including our own offices!")
by 1%. Then, on October 1, in spite of facing a budget shortfall and
decreased funding from State and Federal governments, they raised their
salaries by 3%.
What do we learn from the actions of the County Board? We learn that
sometimes you have to put on a pious face, but County government is just a
big pork barrel, so get a long fork, and dig right in.
In light of the shameless arrogance of the County Board, how could County
employees be blamed for wanting a 3% raise for themselves?
What will legislators (who make less than half of what a County Commissioner
makes) think when the County Board comes to them and wants an increase in
funding for the next fiscal biennium?
The actions of the Board are done. They cannot be undone. But it must be
appreciated that these actions have poisoned contract negotiations with
County employees and negotiations with the State Legislature for the next
two years.
Unfortunately, the tools remaining for balancing the budget will be blunt
and broad and painful when applied.
The Board will have to institute a hiring freeze. This means critical
positions may not get filled when they are vacated through quits and
retirement. There may have to be exceptions to the freeze, but each
exception will have to be discussed and voted on individually. Existing
labor contracts must be honored.
The County Administrator must immediately sit down with each department head
and review that department's budget and personnel needs. Each department
head must sit down with all the members of their department and discuss
their performance objectives and realistic personnel needs. Every County
worker is important. They have always been important. For the next few
years, until we get through this, they will be even more important in
maintaining the high level of public service the citizens of Hennepin County
have come to expect.
There are some departments that could be trimmed or cut.
The Sheriff's Narcotics Unit has an annual budget of over $2 million. The
War on Drugs has been a War on Young Black Men domestically and a War on
Indigenous Peoples and a defense of right-wing dictatorships
internationally. At a minimum, the $2 million budget should be cut in half.
The Budget and Finance department had a 17.9% increase in its personnel
budget from 2000 to 2002 without increasing the number of personnel. This
deserves a closer look.
The Office of Planning & Development added one more Senior Planning Analyst
and increased its personnel budget from 2000 to 2002 by 21.5%. A reasonable
person might assume there was room to trim in this department.
We need a thorough review of the Information Technology Department. Their
annual budget of $13,623,168 seems a lot to pay just to keep computers up to
date.
As part of the County Department of Public Works, the Road and Bridge
Design Division has a personnel budget of almost $3 million a year
($2,960,427 in 2002). Their design for Lake and Hiawatha ended up changing
a 60 second wait for a light on Lake Street into a 160 second delay with no
provision for pedestrians or bicycles; however, it must be admitted they
built a pretty bridge for traffic driving on Hiawatha from downtown to the
airport. They have designed a flyover ramp for the 31st Street exit driving
North on 35W that would take vehicles over 31st Street and Lake Street on to
28th Street. This would have the effect of entombing the West Phillips
Neighborhood in a wall of concrete. These flyover ramps have been torn down
in other major metropolitan areas where they have been constructed. This
department needs to be seriously re-evaluated.
Ed Felien
Powderhorn
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
