Dear Everyone;
The SF Examiner had an article Saturday on the budget busting $37 million in overtime caused by 6 major City departments. I wrote an LTE about this and the Examiner published. But they did not include my Libertarian affiliation this time but the message is still Libertarian - cut taxes.
Ron Getty
SF Libertarian
http://www.examiner.com/a-122212~Letters__May_30th__2006.html
Letters: May 30th, 2006
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The Examiner
May 30, 2006 6:00 AM (45 mins ago)
SAN FRANCISCO -
City’s overtime costs out of control
The actions of the “Big Six” departments running up massive amounts of overtime are unforgivable (“City overtime costs soar to $122 million,” May 27).
The City must stop kowtowing to employee unions’ work rules and classify city employees as salaried. This way there would be no need for $37 million in pay overruns.
City employees average $85,000 in pay and benefits. In comparison, the average San Francisco civilian receives $50,000 in pay and benefits. This is why city employee wages and benefits take up 40 percent of the $5 billion city budget.
The City has a ratio of one public employee for every 28 residents. City Hall must do a department-by-department audit of exactly what each department does. Then it should contract out competitive bids to private companies for everything that could be done at less cost to the taxpayers.
City public servants shouldn’t live high on the hog at taxpayers’ expense.
Ron Getty
The City