READERS RESPOND
At issue: Huntington Beach is footing the bill -- which has hit the
$20,000 mark -- for a holiday party to boost employee morale.
PRO
The Independent has reported on a holiday luncheon for all Huntington
Beach city employees (“Party price balloons to $20,000,” Nov. 18).
The cost to the city will be approximately $20,000. Some residents, and
of course a council member or two, will make an issue out of this.
If you put this in perspective to the entire city budget, this amount is
minuscule. In fact, if you figure out a percentage basis what this costs,
to most people it’s about the same as taking a couple of the neighborhood
kids to McDonald’s.
As the new millennium approaches, Huntington Beach will face many uphill
battles. One of these battles will be the ability to hire and maintain
quality employees. Notice I used the word quality. With low unemployment,
high housing costs in this area, and neighboring cities offering creative
employment packages, Huntington Beach can no longer afford to employ on
the cheap. If there is anything I have learned in 21 years of working for
the city, the root of government inefficiency is its desire to do things
on the cheap.
For those on the council and city management who made this luncheon
happen, I thank you.
IRWIN FEUERSTEIN
Huntington Beach
CON
We agree that [former] Mayor Peter Green is out of line proposing to
spend money for a city employee party. It’s ridiculous!
Our neighbor fell in front of our home because a city-planted tree
uprooted the sidewalk. The city did a quick fix and said they were “so
short-handed” that a permanent cement job would take two to three years.
The roots are also uprooting our lawn. The tree division said they could
not do anything about it for one to two years. The head of that
department didn’t even have the courtesy to return our phone calls. We
had to contact his boss.
The work being done on Goldenwest Street is another poor, temporary job.
Pot holes, bumps -- it’s a wonder our tires are not shot. Not to mention
several other places farther down Goldenwest Street and on Warner Avenue
between Edwards Street and Goldenwest Street. We’ve been told over and
over money is tight, we need more revenue from the likes of Wal-Mart, yet
the city approves $10,000 for an employee party.
Get real.
Do they really think the people who live in Huntington Beach are that
naive? If Green thinks the employees need an incentive, let him throw
them a party with his own money.
JANE AND TOM PETERSON
Huntington Beach
The Huntington Beach City Council seems to have a rather distorted
priority with regard to taxpayers and fiscal sanity in general.
The City Council approved spending $10,000 of taxpayer money to boost
employee morale of the city’s 1,000 employees and help them get to know
one another and become a part of a cohesive team, the article states.
The real “bash” is right in the face and wallets of Huntington Beach
taxpayers, who are constantly being told that there is no budget to even
keep the city operating at an acceptable level. Instead, Huntington Beach
tax dollars are being channeled to city employee labor union contracts
and Downtown beautification, etc. In contrast, there seems to be little
or no budget for the billions of dollars needed for infrastructure as
well as nonessential luxuries.
In the article, [former] Mayor Peter Green said he considers the bash a
reasonable expense, especially when compared to the price of parties
thrown by large private companies.
The good mayor seems to be reflecting upon decades past. I would like him
to name local private sector companies that currently dole out $10,000 to
boost employee moral. As a fairer comparison, how about naming any other
Orange County cities throwing out this kind of money for city employee
morale boosters?
With some Huntington Beach city employees being compensated more than
$100,000 each year, one would think that such a deal would be enough to
boost morale. Ironically, both the city employees and the taxpayers will
each participate in the bash in very different capacities.
JAMES BRIDGES
Huntington Beach
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