The Watchman's Overhead

A friend emailed this and insisted I post it here.  (You're welcome Dave!)  The anecdotal story in the beginning is reflective of the way government, even local agencies, operate.  In the same manner that "they" do not trust the watchman to do his job, "they" do not trust us to live without "their" micromanagement.  Of course "they" are supposed to be We, the People...

***

Gubmint and How Gubmint Works   
Once upon a time the government had a vast  scrap yard in the middle of a desert. Congress said, "Someone may steal from it at night."   So they created a night watchman  position and hired a person for the job. 

Then  Congress said, "How does the watchman do his job  without instruction?" So they created a planning department and  hired two people, one person to write the instructions, and one  person to do time studies. 

Then Congress  said, "How will we know the night watchman is doing the tasks  correctly?" So they created a Quality Control department  and hired two people. One to do the studies and one to write the reports. 

Then Congress said, "How are these  people going to get paid?" So They created two  positions: a time keeper and a payroll officer, then hired two people. 

Then Congress said, "Who will be accountable for all of these people?" So they created an administrative section and hired three people, an Administrative Officer, Assistant Administrative Officer, and a  Legal Secretary. 

Then Congress said, "We  have had this command in operation for one Year and we are  $918,000 over budget, we must cutback." So they laid off the night  watchman. 

NOW slowly, let it sink  in. 

Quietly, we go like sheep to slaughter. 
Does anybody remember the reason given for  the establishment of DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY..... during the  Carter Administration? 

Anybody? 

Anything? 

No? 

Didn't  think so! 

Bottom line. We've spent several hundred  billion dollars in support of an agency....the reason for which not one person who reads this can remember! 

Ready?? 
It was very simple..and at the time, everybody thought it very appropriate. 

The  Department of Energy was instituted on 8/04/1977, 
TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL. 

Hey,  pretty efficient, huh??? 

AND NOW IT'S 2010 -- 33  YEARS LATER -- AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS "NECESSARY" DEPARTMENT IS AT  $24.2 BILLION A YEAR. IT HAS 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY 100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES; AND LOOK AT THE JOB IT HAS DONE! (THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?") 

33 years ago 30% of our oil consumption was foreign imports.  Today 70% of our oil consumption is foreign imports. 

Ah, yes -- good old Federal bureaucracy. 
NOW, WE HAVE TURNED OVER THE BANKING SYSTEM,  HEALTH CARE, AND THE AUTO INDUSTRY TO THE SAME  GOVERNMENT?     

Hello!!  Anybody Home? 

CANDIDATES’ FORUM TOMORROW

TOMORROW!!!

NORTH ORANGE COUNTY CONSERVATIVE COALITION

&

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICAN ASSEMBLY

CANDIDATES’ FORUM AND ENDORSEMENT MEETING FOR

CITY COUNCIL AND SCHOOL BOARD

Brea * La Habra * Placentia * Yorba Linda * Fullerton

All North Orange County Residents are encouraged to join us to get to know the conservative candidates seeking your vote in November.

Our local elected representatives affect our taxes, safety, streets, schools, homes, neighborhoods and local businesses.

Come to this FREE event and become more informed about the issues in your community and the people who want to represent you!

When:  SATURDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 18 AT 9:00 a.m.

Where:  Community Clubhouse

   4067 BALMORAL DRIVE, YORBA LINDA, CA 92886

              (Just off Bastanchury and Emerald Downs Drive)

Candidates and guests:

For more information, please contact Desare’ at deseric@sbcglobal.net.

|Visit: www.nocconservatives.org|Join: http://www.meetup.com/NOCConservatives |

Volunteer Firefighters Account for 1/3 of OC Fire Authority's First Responders - Fullerton ZERO

The front page of the September 9, 2010 Orange County Register brings to light how a good idea is implemented poorly.


The article discusses a report from an un-named source that shares data on response times from reserve firefighting and medical units in Orange County. According to the article, there are 495 reserve positions with only 291 positions filled. Of the 291 positions, 41 will be laid off or fired.

Let’s put it in perspective. The Orange County Fire Authority employs 841 full-time firefighters/fire management personnel. They have budgeted 495 reserves for FY2009-10. That means that nearly 1/3 of total first responder capabilities rest in the hands of reserves. Fullerton has no reserve firefighters to help shore up minimum staffing requirements and minimize overtime. For a department which was founded as a volunteer fire department I find it Ironic that they now have zero reserves on hand to help.

The OC Register article goes into the asset versus liability of having reserve fire units. Essentially, the report finds that several reserve units failed to respond to calls. That in and of itself is problematic but the real question that is missed is where has management been? You would think that management would notice pretty quickly that the reserves are not responding and then take corrective action. Apparently no one noticed.

Amazingly, the solution is quite simple. By integrating reserves with professionals in the same manner as law enforcement agencies, the reserve can be better managed and will have the opportunity to receive peer mentoring.

Why has management allowed reserves to have their own volunteer units and not an integrated approach? My guess is that the OCFA union would not allow it through their MOU or no one cared enough to explore the use and utility of having reserves. For that matter, why do we still have firefighters being paid to sleep in regional firehouses? No other public agency outside of fire service, would allow employees to sleep on the job.

I realize the thought of working an 8- or 12-hour shift might terrorize some firefighters but it would certainly make better sense than having dozens of high-paid public servants sleeping on the job. Other communities have already implemented 8-hour shifts. It would also address the argument that firefighters deserve their high pay and pension because they are away from their family more than other public employees. With that argument one would think our soldiers are millionaires considering the time they spend away from their families.

Firefighting has its own culture based largely on tradition. When those traditions negatively affect taxpayers, it is time to think if we want to continue down this costly “traditional” road or cut a brave new path that leads to improved services and lower costs.

OC Register: Govt. job compensation 44% higher than private

September 8th, 2010, 11:09 am · 32 Comments · posted by Mary Ann Milbourn

Workers in government received an average $39.74 an hour in wages and benefits in June compared to $27.64 an hour for private sector employees, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.


Total compensation for government and private workers combined averaged $29.52 an hour.

In private industry, wages and salary made up 70.6% of total compensation in June while it was 65.7% for government workers.

Legally-required benefits such as Social Security, Medicare and workers compensation insurance were 8.3% of total compensation for private workers while insurance was 8%.

Insurance costs was the largest benefit for state and local workers, making up 11.8% of total compensation. Retirement and savings were second at 8%.

Compensation for private workers and government workers is not directly comparable, the BLS notes. There are differences. For instance, manufacturing and sales make up a large portion of private sector jobs but are rare in government. Professional and administrative support services make up two-thirds of government work but only half of jobs in the private sector.

Management, business and financial jobs had the highest total compensation in June: $55.27 an hour, including $38.29 in wages and salaries. Primary, secondary and special education school teachers were second at $51.09 of which $36.45 was wages and salaries.

Services industry workers were at the bottom of the compensation ladder getting $16.20 total per hour. That included $11.52 for wages and salaries.

Read the full report HERE.