Wasting Our Tax Dollars

LETS MILK IT FOR ALL ITS WORTH

2007-02-07T21:20:00.000-06:00

I read Lil's report on the town meeting. And once again I am astonished at the gall this council even consider additional holidays for the employees. Its not enough that we paid out 5% pay increases to all of the town employees just last fall which included the part-time employees. This was a huge expense since several of the employees hold more than one position the increase was a 10 to 15 percent increase.
When do we say enough is enough! This council is not looking out for the best interest of the citizens. Seems as though they are out to get all they can get before a new Mayor gets in office.
Since when do we need a bargaining tool such as holidays. If three holidays makes that much of a difference let the people find another job. I would be the farm that you couldn't pry any one of the employees from the cush positions they have.
The attorney is right, you have to pay all employees overtime if they work more than 40 hours.
It is against the law to do otherwise.
I have a question, now if you hold two or more positions for the town just how much vacation time do you accrue? One employee position equals 34 days of vacation, sick, etc., so if you hold two positions do you get 68 days? How does that work.
It makes sense, after all if you can work two jobs in an eight hour period as our city employees do, you would get double vacation time under the current system set up by our Mayor. You know the old saying," Lets milk it for all its worth!"
I have not heard any talk of an amphitheater around town. Not one citizen I talk with has mentioned this which makes me wonder how long the Mayor has been cooking up this deal.
Where are we getting the money for this project and who is benefiting from it. There is more to this than we know.
Last but not least, I believe we have bigger worries than trashcans being left along peoples driveways. Although citations would generate more revenue if fines are enforced. And at the rate our council is spending money we need to cook up more schemes to rob the taxpayers.
Lets see how can we generate more money in order to pay for the new city hall, theater, sewer, and more perks for the city employees?
1) We could put up toll booths from traffic light to traffic light.
2) Charge a fee for visiting the new city hall after all its theirs not ours.
3) An annual fee per child to play at our city parks
4) A walking fee for using the sidewalks to get exercise.
5) A breathing fee for using up city air.
Yes these make about as much sense or should I say cents as all of the other bologna they are throwing at the citizens.
As for the Field of Dreams, is this being funded by private citizens and not the town? Why do we have a Parks Director if the private citizens have to be responsible for the parks. This is another waste of our tax dollars.

WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

2007-01-23T21:18:00.000-06:00

I'M STILL HERE! You don't need me to stir things up, you all complain just fine.
As far as what is happening in White Bluff, well the last News I had the pleasure of witnessing was when the news crew showed up at Carl's Perfect Pig. The reporter was doing a bite on the fine BBQ served there. The Crew came inside filming the restaurant, patrons and management. In doing so, they managed to film our very own Fire Chief and Assistant among others eating lunch. They came in looking for the fire crew, you might ask, how did they know our fire crew was dining out, well, they also filmed our trucks setting outside.
Carl does have great ribs but I prefer the Hog! In the Hog there are just locals, Pineknot, Les,
Barry, John, Jimmy, you know, the regulars. You can go in for a burger, and hear all of the town politics, death notices and in general, any new rumor being discussed.
The latest being the debate over who would make a good mayor and all the problems with the past mayors. Well, so I hear, its a two horse race. Vance Smith vs. Linda Hayes.
Our good citizens deserve to see an official debate between our candidates. Maybe the setting could be at City Hall or the White Bluff Community Center. Wouldn't you like to know what Smith or Hayes if elected plan to do for our town. Where do they stand on raising taxes in the future? What will they do about the state of our sewer system? Will they continue to support the buddy system when it comes to city employees? Will they continue to allow employees to hold two and three jobs while working only an 8 hour shift. You know, double dipping!
So what will it be, I say neither will commit anything to the citizens of this town. After all their politicians.

What's That Smell

2006-11-16T19:12:00.000-06:00

Folks all over town have been complaining about how bad the town smells. I talked to a friend who told me that residents in Greenfield Subdivision complained at the town meeting that for the past five years they have been putting up with the smell of raw sewage in their neighborhood.
Why would anyone allow this to continue in their community is beyond me. Wake up folks, your breathing this odor, your kids are breathing this foul odor. We have Environmental Agencies that monitor the safety of citizens. I was astonished that the citizens accepted the word of the town to fix the problem for the past five years and continue to put up with the odor.
Its never pleasant when you have to make people accountable but the odor isn't pleasant either.
Where is that overpaid Sewage Superintendent? He must have been working one of his other jobs, as codes inspector, inspecting homes, running his trucking company, or flipping houses. Just read the herald, he sure moves a lot of real estate. Actually he is not the problem, the Mayor is the blame for allowing the employees to hold more than one job for the city and have their own business on the side. You can't juggle that many jobs and be effective at any of them.
There was a couple from Nashville that looked at homes in White Bluff Hills. They wanted to live in the country. They called to say they had concerns about the foundations in several of the homes. And that the new homes had major cracks across the entire foundation of several homes they looked at. All I can say is, Mr. Codes inspector, hope someone has your back, I heard that this has been reported to the state showing photos of the mess you inspected and approved.
Our city stinks, literally, there are other reports of chemicals coming from the new sub-division off of White Bluff Road. Seems it happens only at night, what are they burning?
Hope the Fire Department i.e. Eric Deal can check this out. I trust he knows more than anyone at City Hall.
Have a Happy Holiday to all and a note to Greenfield Ridge get busy and call OSHA or the EPA?

In Honor of Jimmy Brown

2006-10-31T17:24:00.000-06:00

I believe you have a great idea in honoring Jimmy Brown. Its true Nick, Mr. Brown would not want to be honored. He did a lot for the people in this community never expecting anything in return. He saw the needs folks had and responded without hesitation. If there were more people like Jimmy Brown, this world would be a better place.
During the time he owned and operated Brown's Hardware store he gave out more credit than he made in cash. People had hard times and couldn't pay, when they needed materials for repairs, Jimmy would tell them to take what they needed knowing money was not coming into the store, goods were just going out.
I'll bet you won't find a soul that Jimmy turned away because they didn't have money.
As teacher, Jimmy brought more to the classroom than merely studying books. He played classical music, took his class on field trips to learn nature and most of all taught that plain old common sense was as valuable as book learning.
As a Principal at the school, Jimmy always made sure the kids that needed supplies, lunches, shoes or coats always had them, paid for out of his own pocket.
Jimmy Brown is responsible for the Community Center. It was his vision for the children in the community to have a place to play ball.
Jimmy in earlier years visited folks taking flowers, cakes or pies to people sick or shut in, in nursing homes and hospitals.
As Mayor, he was honest, always considering the interest of the people in this town first.
We may never see that again, but we can always hope.
In his later years he enjoyed late night radio with Art Bell. Jimmy didn't go out much. He stayed at home and enjoyed cooking. He made a darn good jam cake.
I hope the citizens of this town see that Jimmy Brown is remembered.
A plaque with his picture etched on it outside City Hall or call it Brown Hall. Just suggestions, I'm sure we can collectively come up with something good to honor his memory.
And I'm sure that wherever he is, he is enjoying Jelly Roll Morton, Artie Shaw and Charlie Spivak and their ragtime music or maybe he is discussing Walden with Thoreau, he always said there was nothing better than good conversation. In either case, he is right at home.
So long old friend, you will be missed.

No News is Good News

2006-10-09T18:05:00.000-05:00

Nothing new to report this week. Either the City is going stealth or they are just being more careful. The street department can relax, the mowing season is about over.

The Mayor and Council will never concede they made a mistake spending so much money on a New City Hall. And whether we like it or not, it is going to happen. The State may have the final say as to whether it is legal for the town to choose to hire this construction company without a bidding process.
According to other towns, this is not legal.

Just keep it honest!

DOES YOUR VOTE COUNT?

2006-09-21T18:53:00.000-05:00

Hello and Good Evening:
Does anyone recognize this mansion? Well, let me give you a hint. It isn't in the City Limits of White Bluff. Actually it isn't even in Dickson County.
The Question of the day: Does your vote count?
Well for some of us it counts twice.
The owner of this home votes in the White Bluff elections. " How?" you ask. By giving a parent's address.
It makes me wonder how many other votes were illegal?
For those of you in doubt just request a copy of the citizens that voted in the town elections. It provides the names and addresses.

As for the last photos printed. Research on the property shows sixteen acres of vacant land privately owned, and our employees were working to clean out and burn brush on a portion of this land. There are more photos coming if you wish to see them. The machinery was clearly not used to clean up along the highway as implied. They shouldn't lie about what they are doing.
The property lies beyond Auldige Loop. It is not in the city.

To The Thinker

2006-09-12T18:34:00.000-05:00

Good Evening:
To the Thinker, yes, I received your photos. You stated that these photos were taken of our Street Department clearing land on private property outside the City Limits on Highway 47. And our City employees were working there all day.
You asked, is the town doing contract work? I don't know. You asked, if it is legal for the town to do contract work with taxpayer's equipment?
Lets ask other taxpayers, I'm sure this to can be explained. Keep sending the photos, I will post them. (wastingourtaxdollars@inbox.com)

Citizens/Taxpayers' Petition

2006-09-03T23:04:00.000-05:00

Citizens/Taxpayers' Petition

We the undersigned residents of the City of White Bluff, Tennessee as witnessed by our signatures below, are against spending 1.5 million dollars to build a new City Hall and raising city taxes. We request the Mayor and Town Council schedule a meeting with an open forum for the citizens to be heard on this matter. Further, we request a vote by ballot, to allow the citizens to actively participate in how our tax dollars will be spent and any tax increases.

Name:_____________________________

Address________________________________

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Good Idea1

2006-09-01T18:07:00.000-05:00

Good Evening:

I have read several suggestions that make much more sense than what our Mayor and Council are proposing.
How do you feel about giving up the Community Center? I see more kids playing at the Community Center than at Veterans Park. I for one vote, not to let them take our Community Center.
We have 57 acres at Veterans Park. I wish the Mayor would explain his vision for such a huge park. Who knew we had that much land for a ball field? I didn't! Were they planning to build a park for a Major League Ball team? You know, with parking and all. Why would you need this much land set aside for a park? That's a good question to ask at the next town meeting.
I agree with the citizen who wrote saying sell off 50 acres and keep the seven acres for the ball field or ballfields, a soccer field, and/or basketball courts to provide diverse activities for our kids. The sale of 50 acres would be more than enough to pay for a new city hall, police and fire buildings.
If that 50 acres sold at $15,000.00 per acre, which seems comparable, the town would make $750,000.00 dollars.
I believe it's time to take a stand. We as tax payers need to get a signed petition to present to the Mayor and Council requesting them to reconsider spending 1.5 million dollars on a new City Hall.
Does anyone have experience in writing petitions? If so, we can post it and have everyone
print off copies, take them through their neighborhoods to be signed. Then bring them to City Hall at the next town meeting and give copies to the council.
Send the Petition to wastingourtaxdollars@inbox.com and I will post it.

One last item, someone posted that the town meeting has been cancelled for Tuesday due to the County Fair, the last time I checked, this was not considered as a holiday or holidays. WHAT'S UP MAYOR. Do you need more time to rehearse your answers to the citizens?

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

2006-08-29T20:30:00.002-05:00

This is great information! Thanks for posting it.

After reviewing this, my first question was, why is the Assistant Fire Chief making more than the Fire Chief? Thats like paying the Vice President of a Bank more than the President?
The Fire Chief is responsible for the Fire Department as a whole. He makes all of the command decisions. Why would he make less? I would not be the head of a department and have anyone under my command making more than me.
Did you Know:
The sum of the total salaries paid out to City Employees equals $353,500.00 a year. How much money does the town collect in taxes? Now, add the additional 5% pay increase of $17,975.00 for a total of $377,475.00.

I believe this is half or more of the sum of tax dollars collected, according to what was published in the Dickson Herald.

I have questions. Who is the plant operator? What does he do for $27,340? Is this the same employee that is the Superintendent? What exactly does the Superintendent do? If you combine these two jobs for one salary it would save money! The Superintendent is not that busy. He spends more time in his truck than working.
The Part-time Park Director, what does he do? I never see anyone at the new park. Occassionally I do see the lights on at night for hours and the park is empty. We are paying, when the lights are on and no one is playing on the field. Does the Director include mowing the field at the park in his salary or does he make even more money mowing the ball park and billing the town for it? So what do we get from the Park Director for $964.25 a month.

Now lets look at the maintenance and street department. Other than mowing what do they do? I would say they mow grass 5 months out of the year? The least paid of the three makes maintenance positions is $1501.46 a month.(including 5% increase)
Does the town have the equipment to do street repair. I have seen other companies do some repairs on the streets. Does the town have equipment to patch holes in the streets? Or is this a job that is contracted out. What exactly does the mx department do other than mowing. When mowing season is over, then what type of work are we paying for during the winter?
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, WHAT ARE WE GETTING FOR
OUR MONEY?
Also, how are the pay increases being calculated? Is each position getting a 5% percent increase or each employee? If each position gets an increase then an employee holding two or three positions would average a 10 to 15 percent increase in pay.

city recorder $30,540
municipal clerk $24,040
fire chief $12,540
asst. chief $27,290
parks dir.part time $11,020
police chief $32,540
seargent $30,340
officer $26,390
officer $24,040
animal off.part time $ 9,020
sewer supertendent $32,440
plant operator $27,340
maintenance part time$12,000
street supertendent $23,040
maintenance street $19,760
maintenance street $17,160

Who am I?

2006-08-27T19:40:00.000-05:00

Good Evening:

What difference will it make if you know who I am? I am an ordinary citizen asking the same questions you are asking. And through this site, I have given you another avenue to ask questions and voice your opinions.
I have posted photos; you have viewed the photos and formed your own opinions.

Lets just say that you have not identified me yet! Those you have named are not responsible.
As for my identity, well this is as close as it gets. Keep in mind that I am incognito.

I have a cousin named Flash and a brother named Duke Bush

And unlike Duke, I can keep a secret!

IRS Publication 15-B

2006-08-24T19:25:00.000-05:00

Good Evening:

I didn't have much time research this issue. However, I was referred to this website, WWW.IRS.GOV. Under Publication 15-B.

IRS Publication 15-B states:

A town provides cars which its officials and other employees use during the workday for business purposes. These employees also use the cars for commuting to and from work. Is the use of these vehicles for commuting taxable income to the employees?

The value of noncash fringe benefits is taxable income to the recipient. Thus the commuting value of a vehicle owned or leased by a public entity usually represents taxable income to the employee.

One exception is for the qualified nonpersonal use vehicle, described above. Thus, for example, when a law enforcement officer drives a clearly marked police car to his or her residence when off duty and otherwise satisfies the requirements described above, the commuting value of that vehicle is not income to the employee.

There are several ways to value the commuting use of a car for income and FICA tax purposes: the cents-per-mile rule, the lease value rule, and the commuting rule. Under the cents-per-mile rule, the value of the use of a car is the standard mileage rate (44.5 cents per mile in 2006) multiplied by the number of personal miles driven. Under the lease value rule, the value of the use of the car is the annual lease value (in the regulations) less the amount of use which would be a working condition fringe to the employee. See section 1.61-21(d)(2), Income Tax Regulations, which also discusses this valuation method in detail. To qualify as a working condition fringe, the business use must be deductible as a business expense by the employee. This means that the employee must keep a log to account for the business miles driven. More information about these methods can be found in Publication 15-B, Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits.

Under limited circumstances, the "commuting rule" can be used to determine the commuting value of a car. Under this rule, the employer determines the commuting value by multiplying each one-way commute (from home to work or from work to home) by $1.50. If more than one employee commutes in the vehicle, this value applies to each employee. To use this rule, the employer must meet all the following requirements:
The employer owns or leases the vehicle and provides it to one or more employees for business use.

For bona fide noncompensatory business reasons, the employee is required to commute in the vehicle. The employer is treated as meeting this requirement if the vehicle is generally used each workday to carry at least three employees to and from work in an employer-sponsored commuting pool.

The employer establishes a written policy under which the employee is not allowed to use the vehicle for personal purposes, other than for commuting or de minimis personal use (such as a stop for a personal errand on the way between a business delivery and the employee's home).

The employee does not use the vehicle for personal purposes, other than commuting and de minimis personal use.

If this vehicle is an automobile, the employee who must use it for commuting is not a control employee. An elected official is always a control employee. (For tax year 2006, a control employee of a government employer is an elected official or one whose compensation is $133,900 or more for the year.)

The term "bona fide noncompensatory business reason" means that the employee must be required to commute in the vehicle for the benefit of the employer, not for the benefit of the employee. Examples include the following:

The employee was driving a van in an employer-sponsored carpool.
The car, though unmarked, was outfitted with communications or other equipment the employee would need if on call 24 hours a day.
The unavailability of parking at the workplace.
An employee in the field, who would otherwise have to return to the workplace before going home, might be able to work longer if allowed to commute in an employer-provided vehicle. It is not enough for the employer to simply state that it requires employees to commute in employer-owned vehicles.

To: Anonymous: I never asked to see anyone's tax returns.

It is the responsibility of the City Administration to calculate these benefits and show it as part of the employee's salary. This should be in the Town records.

Lets Keep our Eye on the Ball

2006-08-23T20:47:00.000-05:00

Hello and Good Evening:

I see all of you have been quite busy today. I hope through this link that as a collective group we can effectively make changes in our town for the good. It is good to disagree when we can discuss the differences in a civil manner. However it doesn't solve the problems we are all concerned about,when you make personal attacks on one another.
The town is like a company and we as the citizens are the Board of Directors. When we see something is wrong, we should take steps to correct it. And there are a few out there who want nothing more than for you to make personal attacks on one another. In doing so, we are being distracted by the real issues at hand. We have the same goal, to make this a better town and to know that our money we pay to the City Government is being used wisely.
That being said, Lets keep our eye on the ball!
It's good that everyone is paying attention and asking questions. I certainly would like to know if the city employees are filing the use of town vehicles as part of their income. A call to the IRS should give us an answer.
As for the town equipment i.e. mowers and tractors, the only way to stop the misuse is to take a photo. Otherwise its deny, deny, deny, and its your word against theirs. Fred R. Barnard once said, a picture is worth a thousand words. Just make sure that when you take the pictures, you get enough background to recognize the area.
As I have stated before, I appreciate the job our firefighters do. I would like to see our money spent to support the fire hall more than any other cause.

I would also like to know if anyone knows whether the town can legally build the city hall on our community center? The community center belongs to the people. I believe if we take a stand they will have to put the palace some place else.
Can someone tell me what department of the State will know if bids for building the new City Hall is required?

To Nick,
If you can e-mail the budget, I will try and post it.

Good Night All!

Look and Compare

2006-08-20T18:38:00.000-05:00

Your are looking at our neighbor's Fire Department, Police Department and City Hall in Burns, Tennessee. Its Sunday afternoon and the Fire Department bays are open and manned. If you zoom in you can also see the emergency vehicle in the middle bay.

Burns Fire Department
Burns City Hall and Police Department

Can someone tell me how Burns has managed to have such impressive buildings and have a lower property tax rate than White Bluff? According to their census, they have approximately 2500 city residents while White Bluff has approximately 3500 residents. Burns has a city tax rate of .40 cents on the dollar while White Bluff has .54 cents on the dollar (not including the tax increase recently discussed at our City Hall.

As a whole White Bluff is larger than Burns...so how can they have more and pay less?
Notice the number of Police Cars. Does anyone know just how many patrol cars they have and the number of officers they employ?

Burns does not have trash pick-up nor do they have sewer. White Bluff has trash pick-up at the cost of approximately $50,ooo give or take a few thousand. And according to the Town Council the sewer was the only department to make money this year. I don't recall the exact amount, I think it was over $20,000.

If someone has a copy of the budget, I would like to post it for the citizens to view.

I also want to comment on the posting someone wrote about regarding the automated system that was purchased a few years ago by the Town of White Bluff. I understand the Mayor said he purchased a software package to have our town records automated. Why aren't we using this technology if we have it? Also, if we have this software, why is the Mayor considering buying a second software package to the tune of $20,000 to replace what he purchased and never used? What happened to the first software package purchased? How much did it cost? I'm sure it wasn't cheap. It must be nice to be able to make such a purchase then discard it without another thought. But after all, it wasn't out of the Mayor's pocket! Just yours and mine.

AGAIN:

Burns Fire Department Burns City Hall and Police Department

Not exacly a palace, but pretty darn nice!

Audits are good!

2006-08-18T20:07:00.000-05:00

Hello and Good Evening:

I am inspired! A (Federal) Audit is a great idea. I think that would put any doubts to rest as to how our tax dollars are being spent. I believe it would answer questions everyone seems to have about the monies received for federal grants, as well as, other business issues.

I have debated the message and the firefighter's explanation that was given regarding Fairview. While it does seem plausible, why do we need to go to the far corner of the County to provide fire protection. I understand that the money received for fire protection would assist in cost to the WBFD. Do we really want our fire fighters so far from the city? I can understand giving protection to families just outside the city and even giving assistance to other departments upon request.
It seems logical that instead of building a new City Hall, our tax dollars would be better spent building a new Fire Hall with full time firefighters or even update our Fire Hall at a less expense and have full time firefighters to man the hall 24-7. I feel the taxpayers would find this more benificial than a new City Hall.
Some one mentioned our small town, we are not small, look around at all of the new construction taking place. More and more subdivisions are being built.
If City Hall was automated with the files scanned to disk for storage there would be plenty of space there. If the files were on disk then duplicate copies could be stored as backup in case of a disaster. As it stands, with all the work being done by hand, do we actually have a backup system. I hope our town history is being preserved.
We should all have the right to question the Town Officials. The council members blame the Mayor and the Mayor will not look you in the eye and give you a straight answer. It is very frustrating to the citizens.
From an employees stand point, if no one says don't waste gas, keep the trucks in the city limits when test driving them because we have a budget to maintain, like that employee I would drive the vehicles because as far as I know its OK. The Mayer is responsible and its up to him to set the guidelines for the town employees.
I intend to continue questioning how our tax dollars are being spent. I do not care to know anyone's personal affairs. I do care how other people are spending my money.

To: Mr. Hutchin, like flash hunting the koon, your all barking up the wrong tree.

YOU'RE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION

2006-08-16T20:46:00.000-05:00

I am glad to see that the citizens are taking an interest in the town government. More important is that everyone becomes aware of how our tax dollars are being spent. For example, the next time you see the emergency vehicle at Brady Manns',with the engine running while a city employee is out talking and waiting for his grilled chicken order or when the Fire Chief leaves the fire engine running while he is in Farmers and Merchants Bank for whatever reason - just stop and think, I the taxpayer am paying for this. After all gas is expensive!
I appreciate all your comments and opinions.

To: Crystal, Great, I hope more people take an interest in our town meetings.

To: Anonymous, I agree, how can the Fire Chief be two places at once. I noticed that most of the time when the Chief leaves for the school route all of the doors to the Fire hall are closed. If the Fire Chief's schedule ends when he leaves for the school route then why does he return to City Hall at aproximately 1645 hours only to stay until 1700 hours and then drive away in the bus?
What is the Fire Chief's Priority? As far as the town council now that they know the people's concerns maybe they will start using their authority.

To: White Bluff Proud, Yes, we are scratching the surface and there is a lot more to reveal. Keep watching.

Donna, You're right, you shouldn't have to defend the FD. If they are not doing anything wrong then we will continue to see the fire trucks being used to go home at lunchtime, or at Hog Heaven and even in Dickson. I just hope they can justify being out of a city when a fire call comes in.

Anonymous II, Hey, were you in Fairview on that Saturday...I was...There were no other Fire trucks or fire fighters around nor was there smoke in the air. I am glad that you can guarantee the safety of our children. Would you be so kind to outline the procedures for such an event should we have a fire and the fire chief is on a school bus. I am sure it will ease the minds of us parents.

Oh, and as for the young man, shame on you...the way you handled this incident has opened the citizens' eyes in this town.
P.S. and for you young man with time on your hands, get with the program, use a real camera, I suggest a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT, with a good zoom lens.

Click on the picture to see a larger version.

Micro Management

2006-08-15T19:23:00.000-05:00

I have taken an interest in the City of White Bluff's Government. Although, I have not attended some of the meetings I manage to keep abreast of what has gone on in the town. I was sorry to hear that the Mayor chastized our town council for requesting that each department within the city government present its budget to the council for review in order to determine whether their request for additional money being requested by these department was justified. I understand that the mayor deflected the request by saying that he did not want the employees to be micro-managed by the town council. That the departments would submit their request to the Mayor and in turn the Mayor would review the request and submit them to the council.

If I were a council member I would not want to vote on a budget if I was not allowed to question the content.

More important is the fact that it does not seem that the Mayor is managing the employees of the town. From what I have observed the employees do pretty much whatever they want. I would think as Mayor, he should look at the town as a business. Allowing the use of public equipment by employees other than for working would not be in the best interest of our tax payers. Such as the instance two weeks ago. I was driving through Fairview Tennessee and observed the White Bluff Fire Truck parking at a store that has been out of business for sometime. There was no one else around the establishment. And definitely no fire or emergency taking place. I drove for a ways and decided to go back. The fire truck passed me at a high rate of speed. I turned around and followed the truck. I observed the truck as it turned on White Bluff Road, then turning again at Beaver Dam Estates. There were no sirenes and I was curious so I followed the truck and found it parked at a residence.
How long the truck was in Fairview, I cannot say, the truck was at the residence for about 15 minutes.
Mr. Mayor, is this acceptable? Unless the Charter has changed,our fire equipment cannot leave the city limits unless there was a fire where we were requested to assist or a fire that was under the protection of our fire department outside the city limits.
Does anyone notice that these trucks roll all over town, I have seen employees drive them to the bank, the CeeBee Store, and for a while daily to the White Bluff Hardware store.
How cost effective is this? These trucks burn a lot of fuel, not to mention that if we had a fire,
the fire truck would have to return to the fire station so that the fire fighters
could dress in their fire fighting gear to be protected. Every minute is important when there is a fire.
My second question is, why is the fire chief who is on salary with the town allowed to drive a school bus during his shift at City Hall. If there is a fire and the Fire Chief is driving a bus on a route, which responsibility does he choose first? Does he drive the children to City Hall and expect the parents pick them up and he goes to fight the fire. Or does he continue on his route and let the someone else deal with the fire. Is he getting paid for doing two jobs in eight hours? How does this work? As Mayor you are responsible for approving any jobs that city employees are allowed to do that do not pertain to the city. Its time the citizens start noticing what is going on around them and question why the Mayor is allowing your tax dollars to be wasted. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Introduction

2006-08-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

This is a blog about how government officials spend our tax dollars.