I have previously cited plenty of examples of waste in the city budget and why I think it happens. What to do about it? Here are a few ideas:
- Eliminate the IT Department. Of the ten cities our size I researched, NONE of them have an IT department. They all contract out for third-party services. We ALREADY currently hand $1,800 per month EVERY MONTH to TSM consulting for “monthly city network support” – despite the fact that that is LITERALLY Kristy Acevedo’s job description as “network administrator”. That is simply idiotic. At the VERY least, Kristy should be jettisoned, Monica should get the proper credentials and be made to work a full-time job for her salary and benefits (not just 10 months per year) and the TSM contract should be cancelled.
- Eliminate the Lampasas Economic Development Corp. Mandy Walsh may be the nicest lady on the planet (I do not know her) but she is costing the city over $100,000 per year to go to conventions and attend a monthly LEDC meeting. The LEDC has wasted over a million dollars on the “business park” which is a complete disaster and not a legitimate function of any small government. After eliminating the LEDC, private citizens will still open up Burger Kings, MOJO Coffee shops, antique stores and new hotels and some old businesses will still fail. That is the nature of free-market capitalism. We don’t need a group of 5 or 6 “planners” wasting six figures to do that. The world of Lampasas will keep on spinning after LEDC is gone and the city will save a TON of money.
- Crack down on all the no-bid engineering handed to Eckermann Engineering. To City Council’s credit, it appears from the minutes that this is already happening. Keep it up.
- Start looking SERIOUSLY at alternatives to the current health care plan or provider. Lampasas seems to spend around $12,000 to $14,000 PER EMPLOYEE while other cities our size seem to spend more like $7,000 to $8,000 per employee. That is insane. Gary Cox needs to get on the horn to Harker Heights, Crockett, Princeton, Kaufman and other cities and ask their managers how they do it. I saw one city that used a Texas Municipal League program for their health care. Why don’t we? Hell, Kristy and Monica ALONE cost the city $25,905 for insurance (line item 505-5115). A 30% reduction in these costs would bring us in line with other cities our size and save OVER a quarter of a million dollars PER YEAR.
- PLEASE FORGET about the civic center idea. We don’t need another “Old City Hall” debacle on our hands wasting hundreds of thousands per year in operating costs and interest payments. A cursory Google search shows many cities lose a ton of money on this type of project. The fact that Bruce “Always Wrong” Haywood wants one should be reason enough to bury it forever.
Implementing just these few ideas could easily save the city up to HALF A MILLION PER YEAR. That sounds like a lot, and it is. However, it only represents LESS THAN 2% of our $27,000,000 budget. I know most American families (including me) have had to cut spending at LEAST a few percent when times are tight. Don’t tell me the Lampasas City government can’t do the same and get by with 98.15% of what they spent last year.
I implore City Council to at least consider these proposals. They are all well-researched and well-documented.