First it was the Lampasas Economic Development Corp (LEDC). The LEDC spends gobs of money on salaries/benefits ($100,000) and wasteful, fruitless projects like the corpse repository ‘Business Park’ (over $1,000,000 and counting) and Texas Municipal League Conferences. But that accomplished nothing. The Big Wigs and Goldfish needed more.
Then the City handed out hundreds of thousands of tax dollars and fee waivers to developers (and former City Council members) to rip out oak trees and build houses that cost twice as much as the average Lampasas property . But the Big Wigs were still displeased.
They hired Halff Associates to ‘consult’ (i.e. $120,000 to put up a survey on SurveyMonkey) and also asked a half dozen low-IQ screwballs at a ‘Town Hall” meeting to throw out pipe dreams and fairy tale wishes for our fair city. This STILL did nothing and it angered the Big Wigs more!!
So, NOW they are creating a “Development Services Director” with a salary in the $70,000 range!! Add in benefits, and you are already at roughly $98,000. Not to mention all the other goodies they will need like a car allowance, hotel rooms for useless conferences, etc. And for what? Well, according to the official job posting, this new person will “plan, organize and manage the growth and development of the community through City ordinances and policies.”
Hmmm. Sounds more like the job of the City council, the zoning board and the LEDC, doesn’t it? How many $100,000 clowns does it take to ‘plan’ growth? I kinda prefer the free market, myself. Not some dummy who majored in a joke like “urban planning” at the local junior college.
Furthermore, this new person will “provide direction and leadership in implementing the City’s Comprehensive Plan and Development Services“.
Now, where have I heard that “comprehensive plan” before? Oh yeah – that’s what the recommendations of the Halff Associates $120,000 boondoggle are called. So these City geniuses hire Halff for $120,000 and their response is to put a survey up on Survey Monkey and apparently to recommend the City create another $100,000 position to implement the Halff Associates recommendations! LOL!!
Wow. I REALLY should have gone into government work instead of stupidly opting to become a productive member of the private sector, so I could be milked to death by idiot bureaucrats and politicians.