Friday, September 02, 2011
M-D Mayor Gimenez proposes major changes to county government ... by gimleteye
Mayor Carlos Gimenez released today a major proposal for re-organizing county government. The change of most concern is merging the functions of environmental resource management with planning and zoning. Read the proposed changes here.
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31 comments:
It is about time they collapse these departments or "offices of" as they call it. There is more consolidation to be had trust me, it was tried and met opposition for th BOCC and previous mayors. George Burgess wouldn't have it and Alina is the architect but she doesn't like it, you can count on that.
I think the Charter says there must be a Planning Director so don't know what will happen there. In the past the policy was for the director of DERM be a professional engineer, the director of Building Dept. be the building official, and the director of planning be a certified planner. Whoever, leads this new building department better have the right credentials. We can't be watering down our regulatory departments and functions with just good leaders. They also need proper professional credentials.
They also better not water down the regulatory and investigation powers of DERM. With rhe Rick Scott administration's relentless attack on nature we need DERM more than ever.
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just red the memo... can anyone find out how much money these changes will save us.
Blatant demagoguery! Not one of these directors will be fired. They will either be reassigned or they will retire taking hundreds of thousands of dollars with them. They will then be rehired in another position. It is all smoke and mirrors.
Try getting an appointment to see the Mayor. You will have to sit for hours outside his office and while there, you will see all the big lobbyists walking in with a little bag full of cuban coffee and little plastic cups, exchanging high-fives with each other and with the Mayor's staff. THEY are the ones running the County now!
This is a one dimensional plan that fulfills the campaign promise to reduce the size of government. There will be no savings from this reorganization. Just think how much it is going to cost to align the functions of three departments and the length of time that it will take.
You can't leave something of this magnitude up to department directors and expect it to work. They are going to have to spend some $$ on private consultants and you can kiss those savings goodbye. We are in trouble!
Do not believe one word of this.
Deals are being cut right and left.
To say that there are "No organizational changes" in the WASD is proof.
Director: John W. Renfrow $250,000
Put there by Natacha Seijas
Deputy Director: Douglas Yoder $230,000 - Retired, cashed out his DROP - rehired after one month.
Deputy Director: Joseph Ruiz $230,000 - Formerly Assistant County Manager - fired by Burgess, Placed at WASD by Natacha Seijas.
Mara G. Austin: Went from $120,000 to $167,000 in one day. Was hired as "Assistant to the Director". Title changed to "Assistant Director of Intergovernmental Affairs and Assistant to the Director. That day her salary went up to $167,000
There is also one "Chief of Public and Intergovernmental Affairs": Adriana P. Lamar $122,000 and one "Chief of Intergovernmental Affairs", Sara Leu $120,000.
Intergovernmental Affairs, Tallahassee (Department Lobbyist): Edgar Fernandez, $120,000.
The said something like 5 million... But, let's see....
GSA will have a field day spending money on reprinting letterhead, business cards, brochures, replacing the hard style signage inside/out the buildings and redoing the computer systems so that the data bases are accessible in their newest format.
Then they will have physically move files and furniture around as they re group the work spaces. And then they have to rewire the phone numbers move the computers and phones.
I am sure other readers could add the hidden expenses of the consolidation.
The county charter says that there must be a planning department, but it doesn't say the planning department can't include other functions (such as zoning or sustainability).
The charter also does not require a specific name for the planning department. Just as it can be called "Planning and Zoning," it can also be called "Sustainability, Planning, and Economic Enhancement."
The same goes for the Personnel Department, which will now be expanded and called the Internal Services Department.
The county charter is so vague (or flexible) on the matter of department structure, it is meaningless.
Lobbyists running the show at the 29th floor? Sounds like the good old days of Alex Penelas have returned. What's Alex doing these days, now that Spain's real estate bubble burst?
Edgar Fernandez makes $120,000? Wow. Not bad for a guy without a college degree. He is Susy Torriente's cousin.
We've lived through reorganization in the county and it is wrought with hidden costs, i.e. construction of new offices, new signage, transfer of phone lines, new phone directories , business cards, stationary and creation of new mission statements. Morale is at an all time low and when departments get bigger, there is more bureaucracy. They've spent so much money on that West Dade Building Dept. now they have to reorganize that department again? How many times has it been reorganized in the past 10-15 years. Let's see it was the Building & Zoning Dept. than it was reorganized to Planning, Development and Regulation (ugh) then it was back to Building Dept. than it was merged with Team Metro, now it is being merged back with DERM? Hello? Do you know how much that has cost over the years? Not to mention that staff has to be retrained and operators and clerical staff have to learn new functions in order to handle calls and requests... When staff increases and oversight decreases, you can bet internal ethics violations and downright criminal activity will be on the rise. Taxpayers - watch out unless some substantial recovery costs come from downsizing pay and benefits for administration and executive positions this is all a shell game. Most important is oversight - that can't be stressed enough. Hiring top notch executives who don't need a hoard of assistants to follow them around and do their work for them would help. They clearly need to be top in credentials and state and federal regulations.
"I am sure other readers could add the hidden expenses of the consolidation."
New uniforms for Solid Waste and other personnel, tens of thousands or more to physically move people to be in the same place, tons of man hours to reconfigure the county website to match the new org chart -- and best of all, millions to undo most of the changes once a new mayor is elected in 12 months.
Clearly the people who read this blog are miserable and lonely people who can't appreciate real change when it is happening or someone who is just trying to do the right thing for the county. Nothing is good enough for you people is it. Why don't you people run your selves or just shut up and stop complaing for the sake of complaining. Appreciate what some of these few but good politicians sacrifice in there personal lives to try and help the public. It's getting pretty old, get a life, accept parts of the process and then maybe some day we can unify together as cohesive community.
Last poster: YOU PEOPLE??? Ignorant aren't you? All people have a right to disagree, without you stereotyping them. They might like 99% of what the Mayor is doing it doesn't mean they have to be quiet on the 1% they don't like.
I hate 'You People' who tell us what we should or should not be doing as citizens. You're a 'my way or the highway.' so get off this blog.
To those who say GET A LIFE I say respectfully: Fuck You. Sorry it is just my way of paying you homage.
Did anyone else see Henry Sori and Alex Munoz speak at the BCC meeting on Thursday? They both went overboard to profusely thank the Queen of Cronyism Alina Hudak for their new department director positions. Neither Sori nor Munoz had to compete for their $200k+ director jobs which was very convenient because neither is qualified to hold them.
When I saw Sori and Munoz throwing kisses to Hudak at the meeting, I wanted to throw up. Sadly, the era of cronyism by the old Burgess clan continues in county government despite pronouncements that things have changed.
Having the Burgess crony, Munoz, permanently on the County payroll is pissing me off to know end.
After Burgess resigned, they moved Munoz to the Parks Dept. And, what exactly is his experience there? And, I believe they kept him at the same pay/benefits.
Now, they put him in charge of Animal Services. This is like winding the clock back to when the County Police Department was in charge. He has what experience in that department?
Unfortunately, this goes on throughout County hall. This reorganization does nothing to address the cronyism which we pay for (dearly I might add)
County employees should be hired/fired on experience and job performance. This is simple. When departments are eliminated, the jobs need to go too. Yes, I know the unemployment, but also know the severance these public employees received (with our tax dollars).
Cry me a friggin river. No more public employee unions would be a much better start. This is just such bs - all of it!
Your site has statement:
Please refrain from posting your personal vendettas here. And: one rule on this blog: Do not attack the bloggers!
Sounds like most of the comments are personal vendettas.
Also when you use those kinds of words Geniusofdespair you lose people's interest and your credibility
Not attacking bloggers, just an observation, as of today not reading your blogs anymore.
On tuesday I explain in depth my reaction to the comment above yours. You would benefit to read it. I devoted a post to it. As to my reactions they are not vendettas I look at policy decisions, campaign funding, board appointments etc. I don't care about drinking or womanizing. I don't have a vendetta -- I am trying to get good politicians that do right by the people. Don't read my blog -Again - except Tuesday.
Take a look at Alina Hudak's latest crony appointment: Eleyn De Vito, former secretary to Assistant County Manager Howard Piper.
De Vito was just transferred from her mayor’s office job to Executive Assistant to the Director of ETSD. No job posting. No competitive process. Big promotion and pay raise. Don’t you think someone in the county system had better qualifications than Piper’s secretary? The County hiring system is a complete joke.
All the reshuffling is expected to save maybe $5 million according to the Mayor himself.
What that doesnt count is the loss of productivity from all the shuffling and other points people have made that go into relocation and equipment changes.
Some of the combinations make sense but others do not. It like the Mayor was so bent on keeping his campaign promise to squeese to 25 that the consequences became secondary to achieving a fore-gone conclusion.
Why wasn't a revised budget released as promised? Are the commissioners just supposed to ignore that $5 million is savings? Why isn't Jennifer Glazer Moon doing her job?
That Water and Sewer information is incorrect. Sounds like it came from an unhappy employee who didn't make it to the top or something!
Firing 1500 employees in this community in order to save property tax payers $10-12 a month is totally irresponsible. And for votes, disgusting!
These ignorant rants about so-in-so in County government sounds like a bunch of disgruntled want-a-be's or unemployed who have a serious envy problem!u
These salaries are still too high. Go check out NY city. WHile it might be hard to cut existing salaries (everyone would quit and start collecting pensions), caps should be put on these jobs for future hires.
I have no gripes with the Mayor, but if he is listening - "Haye" those positions, Mr. Mayor and set some caps. These salaries to not relate to the private sector.
What part of that Water and Sewer information is incorrect? It all looks spot-on to me. Like most county departments, Water and Sewer is a patronage pit.
Show me a county employee with "Intergovernmental Affairs" in his or her job title, and I will show you an unnecessary and overpaid employee who's job exists only because they are connected to some politician.
Ray, you obviously don't have no idea of what you are talking about or you have a personal grudge! You sound pretty lame or, maybe, just left out.
WASAD has improved considerably since Renfro and staff took over. They cleaned the place up and are strickly business. Makes this ex-employee proud to see their high level of professionalism. Political patronage, b.s.!
Yes, Renfro has a hard working, work smart team to run one of the largest US water and sewer utilities. Some of the negative comments made here are very ill-founded and made by obviously someone with no knowledge.
Last anon,
You have made two responses and yet you still couldn't identify any part of the earlier post on Water and Sewer employees that is incorrect.
That just confirms my belief that the Water and Sewer Department is a patronage pit full of cronies.
Gimenez needs to clear the political sewage out of the Douglas Road building and bring in a new team.
And what about the 2 Water & Sewer union representatives who are full-time County employees but only do union work all day??? Are there more like this in the County???
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