Comments: November 9, 2009 thru November 14, 2009

 
Employee or
Community
Member		 Name
(optional)		 Email
(optional)		 Comments Date Time
Employee     Consolidate the Fire Department special teams with other cities. There is hazmat, dive, technical rescue, special operations, and other teams. Each valley city doesn't need their own, a regional response team would be a better choice during these economic times. Training, overtime, equipment, and other costs could be shared between various valley cities. If that is too cumbersome, perhaps each city could specialize in one specific area, Tempe could field the dive team, Phoenix the technical rescue, Chandler the hazmat, and so on.  9-Nov-09 7:57 AM
Employee     Have teachers pay their fair share of KidsZone costs. Right now it's free for them.  9-Nov-09 9:14 AM
Employee     I totally agree that the City should take a long, hard look at the "top heavy" positions.  Most city departments would be able to function quite well without excessive "management".  I think it's time to start at the top.   9-Nov-09 11:03 AM
Employee     Re-evaluate all City facility location and place all departments on City owned properties rather than leased spaces. Example relocate all City services from the Orchidhouse building (2nd floor leased space). There are several vacant spaces for example at the 525 S. Mill building and other space at 31 E. 5th street as alternate locations. Re-evaluate recent property purchases to expand Fire maintenance services (off of Apache) and utilize existing facilities. 9-Nov-09 1:24 PM
Employee     Strongly consider all Unions to re-negotiate MOUs for the sole purpose of avoiding excessive layoffs. Suggestions made in this open forum would suggest that we reduce/eliminate some of the employees current benefits. 9-Nov-09 1:26 PM
      Look at closing the community centers on Sundays.  Sunday is the day with the lowest facility usage for both Escalante and North Tempe.  Some of the partners in North Tempe don't even operate on Sunday.  Closing North Tempe on Sunday won't save a ton of money, but every little bit should help.  Closing Escalante on Sundays might have a bigger impact since a permanent employee works everyday of the week at Escalante.  At worst, it would allow flexibility in reorganizing.

Close the community centers on holidays since those are among the lowest attended days and partners don't offer programs on the holidays.		    
CommunityMember     Please don't bring in partners to run programs at the community centers such as at North Tempe.  It is a disservice to the community.

Have TCC give less money to TCAA to run senior programs.  Compare the quantity and quality of programs offered at Pyle compared to Escalante.  Pyle programs are offered by the city compared to Noth Tempe and Escalante Senior programs are offered by a provider (TCAA).  The lack of programs is a disservice to the senior community so stop funding it or have city staff take over programming.  Current programming can be run for less money than is being distributed.		 9-Nov-09 1:27 PM
      There are several positions in community services and parks & recreation that are administrators/supervisors that only supervise a few people, but there are similar positions that supervise a lot of people.  Some of the administrator/supervisor positions could be eliminated.  If a goal is to balance the budget without eliminating positions, then look at moving employees so the work load and responsibility are the same for all administrators/supervisors in the same department (assuming community services and parks & rec combine).  Once work load and responsibility are even, lower the pay range for that classification.  The employees that had a lot of responsibility and work load would have less at a less rate of pay and the employees that gained responsibility and work load would then get paid according to the same work load and responsibility as others in the same classification instead of an inflated rate of pay they previously received.  Neither option is optimal nor is it something most want to address, but it is reality.    
      In Social Services eliminate 1 assistant rec coordinator and 1 coordinator.  Have the five specialists supervise a site and report to the community services supervisor.  Have part-time employees ( program managers) supervise all sites instead of just small sites like in the past then have assistant rec coordinators oversee 3 sites and have the coordinators oversee 2 asst. coordinators.  It would allow elimination of 1 asst. coordinator position and 1 coordinator position.

Eliminate one coordinator between recreation and community services.  Combine job functions for youth sports coordinator or adult sports coordinator with job functions at either Escalante Community Center or Kiwanis Recreation Center.  Coordinate all those sports from the facility and help with day to day operation.		    
Employee     Eliminate the assistant rec coordinator for parks & rec marketing since there are marketing specific people for the city.  The marketing coordinator was moved last year from rec to community relations so marketing for parks & rec programs and events should be with that area.  No need for the assistant rec coordinator in parks & rec. 
Eliminate another coordinator and have all special interest classes ran by a current coordinator at Kiwanis and one other coordinator that currently runs special interest classes.		 9-Nov-09 4:01 PM
      Look at "partners" and groups that are supposed to be supportive of City venues and events...what do we trade and how much labor($$'s) do we spend making them happy at a cost to the overall community. We should stand firm, be supportive but not at the expense of the community. Most Tempe residents do not care or know about these little social groups with special interests. We want our trash picked up and the police to come when we call.Start to run revenue generating areas to make a profit not support the whim, hobbies or fantisies of managers, developers(can you find an empty condo?)  or those who work for the City who have been given a Blackberry. (Twitter is not the end all especially when those the city is helping write disparaging comments on social networks.)No longer allow departments to hide money in  new accounts and"freind" groups to pay for equipment the city cannot afford and events that cause additional labor and stress on work groups.    
CommunityMember     Starting a call center in these times and having completly inexperienced people in the field travel the nation to see other cities when the PhX metro area is full of call centers seems a bit foolish.

32 hour work week, okay. How about if we let those who manage people have the time to weed out employees who are not exceeding in there work group. Show up late, lie on your time sheet, don't fill out vacation or sick time...all of these people are steeling from the rest of the workers. Let Dept. Heads and higher ups work on plans and budgets and let the managers supervise employees. In 'good to great' it talks about the right place for the right person on the bus...right now if you are not doing your job, get off the bus.		 10-Nov-09 2:36 PM
Employee     Close the library on Sundays. 10-Nov-09 5:27 PM
Employee     Austin Texas PD (April 21, 2009) - Cutting the number of high-ranking officers, letting officers work less overtime and no longer letting free security for private events; save nearly $300,000 by eliminating various temporary positions, and reducing its Christmas Day staffing. Another $100,000 would be saved by redeploying 10 full-time employees to support staff; waiving fees for policing private events 10-Nov-09 5:39 PM
Employee     CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee  PD (Feb 1, 2009) - The cost-reduction idea would pay overtime to officers who work more than 171 hours in a 28-day pay period, instead of focusing on daily hours. The change would bring the police department in line with the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which covers overtime for sworn personnel such as police officers and firefighters. 10-Nov-09 5:39 PM
Employee     Kirkland, WA (September 19, 2008) - The basic options for the reduction of overtime costs in order to maintain fire and emergency medical services in our community are:
 Hire firefighters, in place of overtime costs
 Fully participate in the IAFC/IAFF Health & Wellness program
 Establish a reserve for overtime expenditures in excess of overtime budget
 Reduction of service levels by reducing daily minimum staffing
 		 10-Nov-09 5:40 PM
Employee     City of New York (November 2008) - Reduce Nighttime Operational Hours at Five Engine Companies in Firehouses Where Ladder Companies Will Remain Fully Staffed. This action will not effect headcount but will reduce overtime costs by $4.5 million in Fiscal 2009 (partial year) and $9 million in Fiscal 2010 and the outyears. During nighttime hours, each engine company is staffed with four firefighters and one lieutenant per 15-hour shift. This action would remove these staff and re-deploy them to other houses citywide to fill shifts that would otherwise be covered by staff earning overtime. Only 13 hours of overtime savings per shift is assumed to account for the allowable 20hour portal-to-portal travel time for the re-deployed staff. The overtime rates are: $51.05/hour for firefighters and $69.50/hour for lieutenants.  10-Nov-09 5:41 PM
Employee     Consider alternative service delivery and/or funding arrangements for city events.  Although these events have positive economic and community benefits, perhaps the cost of support city services (e.g, PD, traffic control, transportation) should be partially or fully funded by promoting organizations or sponsors. 11-Nov-09 10:20 AM
CommunityMember     Use employee review/evaluations not just hire dates when looking at staff reductions. In every business, there are those that "do" and those that "don't". As a tax payer in Tempe, I would rather have someone who does the job correct the first time, helps in other areas, goes above & beyond the "job" description and works well with others.
There are TOO many old timers that don't do anything but take up space, waste money and create problems by not doing their job.

Please stop fixing things that are not broken!
Stop paying for surveys that say the same thing.
Stop hiring the same "outside" investigators that find the same results. Stop having the community south of Rio Salado unable to shop in Tempe by cutting access to the Marketplace by bike races. The marketplace is one of the top sales tax sources for the city, but i cant shop there if i cant get there.

Consider cell towers discretly placed in parks. Charge more to the events that happen every weekend at Tempe town lake for clean up. 		 11-Nov-09 1:31 PM
Employee Robert Bartelme  |  robert_bartelme@tempe.gov In other muncipalties and government work groups (ie, school districts) the "rules for getting overtime" are much different than here at the City of Tempe. If an employee takes a vacation or sick day during a pay period and then works "overtime" those hours offset the sick or vacation day, likewise if some is to work a holiday then they need to work the full pay period before getting double time and a half. Taking regular hours off during a pay period and then working for time and half in the same pay period is in essence rewarding someone for taking time off. I don't know how much it will save the City but it might be worth looking into. 12-Nov-09 8:53 AM
Employee     Regarding the consolidation of 8 departments into 4, an open recruitment for the 4 dept managers at this time will create unnecessary turmoil and delay.  Select the department managers from the individuals who occupy those positions currently, and allow them to begin the difficult work of consolidating and restructuring two departments into one to achieve the needed cost savings.  There is no net cost savings to be achieved from replacing an existing manager with a different individual from somewhere else in the organization or externally.  This is too stressful of a time already to consider mass replacement of existing leadership with outside individuals. We need our leaders in place and with a razor sharp focus on the job ahead.  The City Manager should understand this having just gone through a similar situation himself with the Council vote.   12-Nov-09 1:26 PM
CommunityMember     Raise and enforce the residential rental tax to 5.0-9.0% from 1.8%. 

Create a website with a database to show which properties paid the rental tax, so neighbors can tell if the taxes are being paid or avoided.  Create a $1,000.00 fine for none compliance, and offer a $250.00 reward for reporting persons who avoid paying the tax.  This will give the neighborhood residents’ the power to report none-compliance at minimal cost to the city.

Examples of residential rentals include:
houses, condos, townhouses, apartments, manufactured homes, and mobile home(trailer) spaces. Rental of a residential space, such as a room to a college student, is also taxable.		 13-Nov-09 11:14 AM
CommunityMember     A violation of section Sec. 22-102, Possession of graffiti implements prohibited, a class 1 misdemeanor. 

Get the word out to the residents on how they can help enforce it! 

When you catch these criminals put them in jail for the full 6 months, or let them work off their time as community service by cleaning up the city 8 hours per day for 6 months under the direct supervision of Public Works Leadership.		 13-Nov-09 11:52 AM
      I have lived in Tempe most of my adult life, and I own several businesses here. What I have learned from living here, and with dealing with other communities is that what sets Tempe apart are it's people. With that I mean the people that work for the City. It does not matter in what area, I have almost exclusively dealt with friendly, caring folks, that will take the time and go out of their way to help the citizens.
In my job, I deal with a lot of other municipalities, and in those that the people care, you can tell a huge difference. 		    
CommunityMember Mick Hirko Mick11@cox.net By eliminating the people that make Tempe great, you will never be able to recover that feeling. Once you take away that community spirit and the sense of belonging to something good, you cannot restore it, especially when people realize they are expendable. Cut programs, services, stretch out the time table for resurfacing streets or renovating offices or replace computers, and take a closer look what we all can do without until things get better in the economy again. The one thing you cannot do without is the people that make this Tempe. Eliminate positions, not people.
As a business owner, I know better times are coming again. I will not hurt the people that helped me build my business and that come to work proud and dedicated every day. Yes, we all have to make sacrifices, but we are all working harder to keep sure that everybody can keep their job.
The same can work for Tempe.		 13-Nov-09 6:49 PM
      The Parking Garage at 117 E. 5th St. frequently has the arms of its access/exit gates broken off due to vandalism.  The price estimate I was quoted to repair this damage is $90.00 a piece.  The arms are designed to break away to prevent the movement mechanism form being damaged if someone drives through a closed gate.  I recommend using a lightweight arm, possibly made of aluminum, with a hinge at its base where it connects to the movement mechanism.  The hinge is to be arranged to allow horizontal movement, thereby permitting a vehicle to push the arm out of the way without damaging the movement mechanism.  Across both sides of the hinge are to be attached springs of sufficient strength to keep the arm straight when it is raised to the vertical position, but weak enough to give way before the movement mechanism is damaged.    
Employee Marshall B.W. Richardson

Marshall_Richardson
@Tempe.gov

 Raised areas, big enough to  scratch the paint of vehicles that drive through the gate, but not sharp enough to injure a person, can be installed along the side of the arm to discourage people from parking for free if they figure out how the safety feature of the arm functions.  Arms of this design would cost more to build and install initally, but would not have to be replaced on such a frequent basis, therefore save money in the long run.  This type of arm could be used everywhere the break away arms are currently used.  14-Nov-09 11:56 AM
Community
Member		     I just read all the comments posted thus far (11/14/09).  From the employee's perspective, it seems that there is a lot of authentic concern that it will be line-staff employees, and not management or administration, that will "suffer" cuts, reductions or adjustments to their routine.  In these times, EVERTHING that isn't essential should be eliminated altogether, not just reduced.  That necessarily includes travel, city vehicles being taken home, cell phones provided by the city, bonus or extra privileges to administrative staff, etc.  Decisions have to be made to make sacrifices, and those sacrifices MUST be made all the way to the top of the administration.   Community members also seem to be expressing the same skepticism about how deeply the cuts will be made, and whether managers/administration will suffer any cuts or inconveniences (including to their wallets) at all.  I've lived in Tempe since 1983; I share the same concerns.  Example:  Do we really need new trees in Kiwanis Park just now?  Wants vs. needs. 14-Nov-09 12:07 PM