According to The Phoenix, the scaling up of a rental inspector position from three-quarter time to full time is among the costs that would boost the announced tax increase for 2008.
Why the rental inspector’s costs should have any effect on taxes is a mystery that Council and the Manager should have to explain. Rental inspections are a regulatory program whose costs should be borne by fees imposed on the applicable properties.
In fact, the projected rental license revenue for 2007 is $167,500 and the budgeted amount for 2008 is $167,000, a mere $500 less. Could it be that $167,000 isn’t enough to cover the costs of one full-time inspector? What is the inspector being paid? Go to the first comment for an answer.
Council Member Wagner is right, Council is not micromanaging the budget. In order to micromanage you must first manage.
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7 comments:
The 2007 budgeted wages of the part-time rental inspector were $26,535.60 (1560 hr at $17.01/hr).
At that rate, the full time wage cost would be #35,380.80.
excellent point!
all this talk about the borough being run as a business has me worried. as a taxpayer, i am a forced stockholder of a poor performing entity. second, we are missing the importance and avoiding the responsibility of government... providing opportunity for the livelyhood of private citizens. instead, we are usurping jobs from the private sector. buckwalter had it right, have a private inspection firm that the borough simply manages.
thomas (dec 1): The borough is not being run like a business, it is being run like the old-time political machine government Messina and Digirolomo have planned for and got. In the corporate world the concept labelled "zero-based budget" means you start each year as if from scratch. You plan and report what you need to do. You have an inventory of measurable activities and expenses to support the case you present to accomplish the business goals. And you show each year what you were able to do (How many miles paved, how many miles of sewer mains inspected, how many window walkups handled, how many rentals inspected, etc.)
For Mr. $500 empty chair, who puts forth a "zero-based budget" which talks only in percent from last year...this is the exact opposite of anything to do with a "zero based" budget. This is all doublespeak of the kind you only get away with in government, because as you kind of pointed out an entity who had shareholders would have kicked Digirolomo out long ago for many reasons. This is a zero accountability budget. Buckwalter has been right - almost always on financial matters. It looks like Wagner, Carlos and incoming Senley - who all have real jobs where they have to be accountable - seem to find the pseudo business jargon covering missed deadlines, misplaced monies and invoices and general B.S. increasingly hard to take and may also finally do the right thing. There may yet be hope. Council can only be blamed if it does not assure qualified staff is in place to do the job and provide direction and set policy to staff and hold them accountable for performance. The new year may bring this. Whoever is the new council president, they will not have the vested interest with keeping things as they have been the last two (and more) years.
" have a private inspection firm that the borough simply manages."
December 1, 2007 4:47 PM
The key point is can the boro manage anything at this time,sure not happening at this time.
Just a group of Ant yes men.
Add this to a list of mysteries. On Nov 26, after a discussion of "emergencies" - also known as the predicitable demise of an aging infrastructure) related to the water fund - the borough manager responded to some question by Tim Daly. Borough Manager in training to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars said that the increase recommended by Himself would lead to continued trouble with the fund. As usual, council rolls over rather than asks the obvious questions.
"Council Member Wagner is right, Council is not micromanaging the budget. In order to micromanage you must first manage."
I don't know about the rest of you nor do I know in what context Wagner's statement was made.
I do know this.
I WANT COUNCIL TO MICROMANAGE THE BUDGET!!
Sheesh.
More heads are better than just Ant's and the finance director.
And, Wagner is campaigning for Council President?
We better pray that doesn't happen.
Senley for Council President!!
You wont get a good full time inspector for that kind of money, you are forgeting 17.01 is a part time rate. There are 3000 rentals in phoenixville, and one inspector, it would take doing at least 11 inspections a day for 1 full work year (260 days)just to catch up
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