Damn right! That's why they put out this press release. They want to be reelected for robbing us blind.

Source

Phoenix eliminates 546 vacant job posts
Critics note that water, aviation departments spared pain

by Emily Gersema - Nov. 9, 2010 12:00 AM

The Arizona Republic

Phoenix has eliminated 546 vacant positions, including 166 sworn-officer and 78 firefighter openings, but critics complain that revenue-generating departments such as water and aviation have been relatively untouched.

The City Manager's Office says that with about 15,090 city positions, Phoenix now has the smallest government per 1,000 residents recorded in 40 years.

Of the jobs eliminated, 202 were civilian positions that will save the city $14.7 million in salary, according to the City Manager's Office. [What a lie! You can't save money by firing imaginary employees!!!!] And 289 of the vacancies were public-safety positions that city staff say were unfunded, so there are no savings.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, whose district includes Ahwatukee and an area southeast of 15th Street and Northern Avenue, said several employees have been shifted from departments that were hit by cuts to the water and aviation departments. [Hmmm ... isn't Councilman Sal DiCiccio the jerk who refuses to stop sending me junk e-mails? Yes he is the jerk!]

Water and aviation departments are considered "enterprise" agencies because they charge fees to operate, and thus don't rely on taxpayer money. [Another lie! Sky Harbor Airport taxes the krap out of people that fly. They have a head tax on everybody that boards an airplane. And they are taxing the krap out of us to build the billion dollar plus "people mover" which will connect Sky Harbor Airport to light rail. ]

"It's a shell game," DiCiccio said. "You should not give the public the impression you're making cuts when in fact you're not. It's not a cut. It's a transfer."

In addition, "the city employees should be doing the same thing that the private sector is doing," DiCiccio said. "Either you take a real pay cut and no more pay raises, or you do layoffs. Those are things that the city of Phoenix has not done." [Hey Mr. DiCiccio I would be happy if you just removed me from your junk email list! How many times to I have to write you *sshole! OK! I have given up writing you and plan to file a lawsuit to force you to stop *sshole! ]

City Manager David Cavazos said there had been openings in the aviation and water departments, where money was available.

It isn't clear how many employees transferred to the revenue-generating agencies. Cavazos said the city would have had to fill those positions anyway, regardless of whether city employees transferred or someone new was hired. [It sounds like they only reason people are being transfered to these "revenue-generating agencies" is as a lame excuse to avoid laying them off. They were unneeded pork in their old jobs and will certainly be unneeded pork in their new jobs. ]

Cavazos, who has worked for several city departments, also said it's common for employees to be moved from department to department.

"It's good solid practice," he said. "We don't have to pay them severance then. They work for the city and not any one department."

If employees are cut, the city has to pay them severance.

The City Council recently approved the elimination of vacancies without discussion based on a recommendation by city staff.

Cavazos said city staff and the City Council will review the organization of city departments to find further cost-saving measures with the Innovation and Efficiency Task Force.

The task force, which includes several city-department heads and 10 members of the private sector, is expected to discuss reorganization of the city's various departments at its meeting Nov. 18.

The task force aims to find $10 million in general-fund savings by the end of the year. It has found more than $7.6 million in general-fund savings, and about $21 million for all funds. [So we are going to pay a bunch of employees $100 million a year in pork and then scream that they are needed because they saved us a lousy $10 million a year]

Employees also are making suggestions that if successfully implemented can earn them money.

Last week, the City Council approved raising the maximum bonus for employees who have cost-saving ideas from $3,500 to $25,000.

Under the bonus plan, an employee can earn a cash reward of 5 percent of the total first-year savings he or she provided to the city, or up to $16,667.

Plus, the department that adopted the employee's suggestion can get a budget credit of up to 2.5 percent of the first-year savings, or up to $8,333.

Employees who offer an idea that provides less than $500 in savings aren't eligible for the bonus.

Councilman Claude Mattox, who represents Maryvale and other neighborhoods in west Phoenix, had suggested the reward increase last month at a meeting of the City Council's finance, efficiency and innovation subcommittee.