Getting back to the magic numbers that were presented on the number of Employees at the 14 September Council Meeting. For example Mr. Rapp says we have one Sewer Employee serving 667 accounts equals about 8.2 people in the Department. I am using 5500 total which is a bit of a swag? But it may be even fewer as we are supposed to have 5000 residential and 600 businesses in Vienna. But there are a few businesses that are said to not have Sewer in their facilities?
Doing the same for the Water Department I will use the same 5600 accounts divided by his one employee per 752= 7.4 employees.
So with 10 people in varying percentages working for Storm Water, that would come to about 25 people in the three Departments. But this is not correct as there are X number in the VUB headquarters that need be added in somewhere. Again the percentages of employees applies some of them to Storm Water plus even the receptionists at the City Building at as little as 10% Storm Water and X in other areas?
The City has become good at hiding who is doing what, where they are doing it and when they are doing it if one does not have the whole picture.
The City can manipulate the numbers anyway they want, but still equals either 27 or 28 Full Time Employees (FTE) in the three VUB areas, now. We need accurate numbers of true employees in full time positions and/ or the way they are percentages across the various departments throughout the City. When there are people being divided up across numerous departments, it does not take long to lose where they are truly counted as FTE versus some here, some there, some who the Hell knows where?
This of course begins to distort the way the P'burg employees are counted versus Vienna? Do they divide their folks up across departments as is done here or they dedicated less the "headquarters" numbers to a specific area? So the numbers Mr. Rapp put out are suspect without the "Caveats" as I noted?
Of course a person be it 10% or 100% in Storm Water does not take away from the quality of work the person does; just how one is counted? This holds true with Sewer/ Water also.
Now, as I post this, I can only believe that the new rates passed 7-0 by the City Council. After all, they would not want to have Vienna "die" for lack of money to do expansion would they?
I noted earlier that I had thought the City converted about 600 1/2" Water Connectors to 5/8" during the change over to Solar Meters. Well, I was apparently wrong. In a Freedom of Information Act request I did, it was noted that it was "approximately" 2300 from 1/2" to 3/4". Now the 1/2 " monthly charge was I believe $4.39/ month. The 5/8" was $4.59/month. The 3/4" charge is $6.89. An INCREASE of $2.50/ month for those 1/2' Customers. This is $2.50 x 2300= $5,750/month PLUS the 5/8" conversions? So with an extra $69,000/ year minimum. Now this goes back to 2014 when the new Meters were all converted. My meter was converted in January 2015 and was of the very, very last. So we have 2 1/2 years new rates = $69,000 minimum that is about $172,500 in INCOME. RATE INCREASES folks, RATE INCREASE. So where has this money gotten piddled away too? It is an easy answer, the VUB and the City will spend every penny they can get their hands on and in this instance, should have been stashed away to pay the Bond Debt that is now in jeopardy without this huge rate increase in 13 years (see above for a bit of "Truth in Advertising").
So add that in with the $250,000 that should have been sand bagged when the deferred months of nonpayment were in effect for two (2) years on the Sewer Plant Update and we are bouncing along at about $420,000 in monies that would have stopped what is now happening.
That bit of Fiscal Responsible behavior would negate my comment on freezing wages for two (2) years, but STILL need to freeze spending unless a piece of equipment is in pieces in the street.
So I would suggest you think very carefully on what they are saying versus what is happening? And it is going to get worse. 'nuff said'.