Why is the City’s budget so high?
It has been suggested that the City has too many cell phones. We are getting to the bottom of the situation.
The city has between 135 and 137 cell phone plans.
Why do taxpayers pay for so many phones? Peggy Cantes, Office Supervisor with the City of Atlantic City, says, “The reason all of the attached named individuals have cell phones is because the City [read - the Business Administrator] wishes them to have cell phones in order to perform their job more efficiently.”
Ms. Business Administrator, I would like you to wish me a pizza every week. These phones are not all creating more efficiency. I will give you an example.
I called Shelia Harvey’s landline every week or two for three months in 2007. I received one voice message in response. I thought that the Special Events Coordinator worked for the citizens. The attached document below indicates that I not only pay for her landline, but along with every other AC taxpayer, I also pay for her cell phone. Do I have to pay her directly to receive return phone calls?
City Councilmen are part-time employees. Why do they get cell phones?
Who is Phil Epps? Why are we paying for his cell phone?
One may make observations of the police department, while still supporting them and their ability to make a livelihood. It is a very fair question to ask, why does the police department need 48 cell phones?
There are five phones for emergency only. Why not put them on a pay-per-minute plan, rather than the current monthly plan arrangement? Where are the efforts to be cost effective?
Some of you may find my investigation petty. I say, it is a series of small points of waste like this one that add up to millions of dollars.
Here are the details for the City’s 135/137 cell phones.
What are your thoughts?
January 31, 2008 at 10:20 pm |
The city is in desperate straits. You don’t appoint a fireman and hope he learns while on the job. We need a professional business administrator (read: one that has gone to college for public administration and has EXPERIENCE running a municipality). The mayor can then direct the BA about what policies he/she wants implemented but the BA should have the responsibility to implement them. If city workers want cell phones to do their jobs better, they should use personal cell phones. Cancel all plans now and save all that money.
February 5, 2008 at 2:53 pm |
Phil Epps is the Information Technology person. He should not have a city-paid cell phone.
February 6, 2008 at 12:29 pm |
The city needs to stop wasting my tax dollars. Most companies do not provide their employees with company cell phones.