The Emporia Gazette

Removing Islands?

Somehow I am just certain that the same people in this discussion that are calling for the removal of these "dumb" islands (that Ed McKernan tells us were the idea of downtown merchants), are the exact same people that bitch about the government spending tax money foolishly. The government, apparently in your eyes, is damned if they do and damned if they don't.
If you have such great ideas, that can solve the problems of infrastructure decay and inability to keep pace with the needs of a growing populace, while SIMULTANEOUSLY lowering our taxes, why don't you show us what kind of Houdini you are and run for public office? Or are you just too busy slamming others in the blogs to get off your butt and do that? Armchair warriors often fail.

March 7, 2010 at 11:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Golf course manager dies

What a nice man. Smart, funny, generous, kind. He will be missed. My prayers go out to his family.

January 26, 2010 at 12:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

City’s Salary scale is extensive

USNretired:

I don't recall getting to vote on wages for the USN. How is that fair to apply that rule of thumb to City employees?

August 30, 2009 at 8:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

County tables employee fitness plan

That's interesting - can we trim fat from employees and end up trimming fat from the budget for health care? I see one of the first provisions is a physical for employees. That's a great early warning system. The City's newest insurance plan enacted for this year, provided by the vaunted Blue Cross/Blue Shield, dropped the provision that paid for the majority of a routine physical's cost. As Commissioner Longbine suggested, this should be incentive for the employees to stay healthy. Let them eat cake!

July 26, 2009 at 1:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Going green

The Gazette could help us go green by not throwing that advertizement in my driveway each week and mailing me one, too. I need neither.

April 19, 2009 at 5:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

The next step at Peter Pan

If memory serves, in the first year the pool opened, the L-cat and school buses departing from playgrounds were used to transport kids whose parents couldn't take them there. Response was poor and the service discontinued.
The fact is, the pool needed a 10 acre site to be built on and where it is now is where it was possible to find a site after much looking took place. Now that it is there, those who will use it need to be able to get there and a little encouragement could start a trend. Could the Rec Commission revisit trying to help in this capacity?

May 26, 2008 at 12:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

The next step at Peter Pan

Wow! Are you serious? The city loses money on the one pool it has now. Do you really think we can afford to do that in two places? Four and half million dollars to build it and we spend over $90,000 a year supporting its use by a mere 12,000 people. How about a little promotion by the management?

May 24, 2008 at 5:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

City looks at changes in jobs

Hey, dhcc66 - ask any City worker out on the job how many employees his department is down. Those employees are not being included in the reclassification. Most of those are not in the management side of the equation - that tends to make things look weighted on the side of management when we may not have too many chiefs after all, just short on Indians from positions vacated that have not been refilled.

We have deficiencies in our streets, response to emergency utility repair, the parks are deteriorated, curent laws and ordinances go unenforced, fire and ambulance service may prove to be inadequate - we need to put some bodies out there for the management to manage! But as the taxpayer cries for fewer taxes, he remains unwilling to sacrifice services or bring in revenues from increased fees outside of taxes. Being a service organization, the easiest place to make budget cuts is by reducing personnel. It's catching up to us, Emporia. This crisis caused by Tyson's layoff may hurt us pretty bad in the end. Just as we are realizing our shortfalls in City budget, our income potential has been slashed.

I agree some restructuring is needed, dhcc66. But how about Mr. Zimmerman leading by example and refusing his wage raise UNTIL the rank and file get theirs? Or, how about leaving the wage pool for those raises and forgoing the remodel? Thanks to the current commission for the call to accountability over the last year. It was a long needed step in the right direction. Be careful, please, that you don't falter now.

April 11, 2008 at 11:49 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

City looks at changes in jobs

Nice, Mr. Zimmerman - a juicy wage increase of $5,000 and a remodeled office. Life is good at the top! As for the workers wage pool being diminished by your remodel - I say, let them eat cake!

As for dhcc66 comments about getting more workers - just how is the City going to pay for them? Already many departments are understaffed from previous vacancies unfilled because we haven't been able to afford to replace the workers who left! And why have they left? For better wages and the chance to maybe get a raise once in awhile. In the meantime, the responsibilities increase for those remaining, the equipment ages, and the infrastructure crumbles.

Time to requisition a fiddle, Nero Zimmerman!

April 10, 2008 at 11:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

Recreation Board wants clear city agreement

WOW! Talk about the tail wagging the dog! Who is the ERC to be dictating to the City? A tenant, that's who. They rent a building from us on 4th Ave., destroy the interior with incorrect operation of the utilities, and then demand that we fix it. And guess what? WE DID!!!

The ERC has done a poor job of attracting clientele to the pool, too. They have had 3 director's in the short 5 year life of the facility. Nice job on the hiring end! It is the Park Department that props that facility up with it's personnel and resources.

All the facilities used by the ERC for its programs are owned by the City. Why should the CC turn over the reins to a tenant and trust that they can manage the taxpayer's property any better than they have in the past? It won't happen!

What should happen is the ERC should dissolve, the City should form a Parks and REC Department and finally hire a director that can keep up with the work that is out there.

April 10, 2008 at 11:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )