Jennings and the Dump


By DIA, Section News
Posted on Mon May 05, 2008 at 03:55:23 PM EST

Apparently I can see the future. This was written two years ago.
I've been writing about Mayor Jennings' gross financial mismanagement of the city finances for two years now. Debt has skyrocketed during his time in office. The water department is jacking up rates because it is so poorly managed. And all along the mayor is saying he is "balancing budgets". What he is doing is mortgaging your future. Literally. Because he is either incapable of properly managing the city or he just could care less. He's made his money, made his friends and donors much richer and he will leave the mess to someone else. Today the Times Union chimes in on the latest financial mess. However, let's be clear: this is just one more in a long line of examples that the mayor is digging a deep financial hole for the city of Albany. When you listen to his excuses remember to ask one question: Who has been running the city with total control to make all decisions for the last 14 years?
Mayor Jennings says the city had little choice but to strike the deal: "If we don't have the $6 million a year that we get from Allied, I have to lay off workers. It would impact the city's budget dramatically. This was a short-term step to maintain liquidity."

But that's precisely what's wrong with this arrangement. It is a short-term step that allows the mayor to ignore a $6 million structural deficit that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Balancing the budget on landfill fees is a garbage solution.
When Jerry ran for re-election in 2005 he kept saying that there were a lot of things he wanted to stay around to finish. And the voters gave him four more years. Anyone care to tell me what he has finished other than the running the city into a financial hole?

< Jennings and the Water Works | The Webs We Weave >

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Jennings and the Dump | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
I'll pose the question again (none / 0) (#1)
by AlfredMoisiu on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:14:50 AM EST
How do you balance the budget in a place like Albany? You have your thing with Jennings, but the one offs that you're describing are just a few in a long line that have been going on for decades in Albany and even in the state government. Whalen sold anything that wasn't nailed down.

The only things that you've suggested, DIA are things like shutting down the golf course. Valuable suggestions, but the financial equivilant of taking a piss in a swimming pool.

70+% of the city budget is public safety. (ie cops, firemen) So if you want to balance the budget, you basically need to lay off 50 cops and 30 firemen. Good luck doing that without triggering Detriot-style white flight.

Alfred (none / 0) (#2)
by DIA on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:33:53 AM EST
I've been saying we need to address this for years.  People like you have been attacking me and saying there is nothing we can do.  With your type of "can do" attitude I'm sure we can fix it.  Or we can throw our hands up in the air and say the scary black people will take over if we balance the budget.  

There is plenty we can do.  You claim to be a business person.  I'm sure you can I could find $1,000,000 worth of salaries in city hall that we could cut in no time.   Next stop DGS.  The Water Department, etc.  Useless patronage jobs need to go.  

And the police and fire unions are going to have to start to address reality.  Our city can't afford them.  You admit as much.   Seems like Schenectady just saved a bunch of money by "managing" their police overtime.  Brilliant, huh?

How about we just sell the golf course, for starters?

There is plenty we can do.  There is plenty Jerry can do.  There is plenty his new head of DGS can do.  But people like you want to sit around for years when smarter people than you were telling you it would happen, and then when it happens say "what could we possibly do?  Nothing.  And if we don't pay the cops the black people will scare everyone away"

That, quite simply, is the real problem.  We all know there is a problem.  You offer no solutions.  Only attacks on people who say we need to work to fix the problem.   You claim to work in business.  I'm surprised you aren't embarassed to write what you do.

I understand you will keep up the scare tactics and race baiting.  It is all Jerry has left.  

stratton (none / 0) (#3)
by DIA on Tue May 06, 2008 at 05:43:25 AM EST
one other thing.  How did stratton do it?  too bad you weren't around when he was elected to advise him that there was nothing he could do but borrow and spend.

Are you reading challenged? (none / 0) (#5)
by AlfredMoisiu on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:16:59 AM EST
Stratton shifted services to the county and didn't fill alot of positions. All good ideas.

I spelled out the solution for Albany - Lay people off.

The problem is, every action has a reaction. If you lay off cops, the public perception of crime happening in the city will change. If you lay off firemen, response times for EMS and Fire calls will drop. If you turn codes into a revenue generator, more property will become abandoned.

I also find it funny that you rail against one offs, then suggest selling the golf course to raise money. Sounds like a one-off.

[ Parent ]

some other thoughts (none / 0) (#4)
by DIA on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:05:16 AM EST
I'm sure you will just consider it all pissing in a pond.

  1.  Revamp the tax assessment process in albany.  Tax vacant buildings at fair market value, for starters.

  2.  Maybe, with gas at $4 a gallon and Goldman Sachs predicting oil to be $200 a gallon in two years, running a business where you import garbage from a large geographic area isn't a very good business model?   Maybe we should revisit that concept?

  3.  Make buildings and code a revenue generating unit.  This could be easily done.  

The possibilities to save money are endless.  All it takes is a few mildly intelligent people and a will to do it.  Or, we can make more excuses and say "see you next year, I'll have a new excuse for why we are powerless then!"

alfred (none / 0) (#6)
by DIA on Tue May 06, 2008 at 06:22:21 AM EST

I guess you use different terminolgy in your business.

Golf course loses money every year.  Selling golf course gets rid of an annual recurring cost.

Plus you get a little bonus money to pay back all the money you've been borrowing.

The idea is to eliminate recurring expenses that are unnecesary.  That isn't considered a "one off" in most business circles.

See, that was a start.  Instead of just attacking me you actually proposed some things that can work along with attacking me.   You also introduced the basic budgeting concept that every action or spending decision has consequences.  Baby steps!  We can get there.


"Managing" APD overtime (none / 0) (#7)
by champlain on Tue May 06, 2008 at 09:43:48 PM EST
If the Albany Police Department could actually do things like "manage" the overtime it spends - Lil'Jimmy could save the City $3.5 million to $4 million a year.

Yo Alfred...ya wouldn't have to cut 50 cop jobs.  All Lil'Jimmy would have to do is actually "manage" his personnel instead of spending a good portion of his day lying to the public and the press trying to cover the Mayor's ass as the Mayor hands out goodies to his developer pals and their crews.

Frankly, I'm surprised Hizzoner and Lil'Jimmy aren't embarassed to appear in public considering the huge amount of taxpayer dollars they WASTE every single freaking year.

It's no wonder Jerry and Jimmy have worked certain public sector jobs their entire lives.  They've only worked jobs where you don't have to be competent in basic things like adding and subtracting, or understanding blatant conflicts of interest.

Enough of the smokescreens and race-baiting Al, how about you actually require Jerry and Jimmy to DO THE JOBS they've been elected and appointed to?

Shit, Jerry's only had 15 years of on-the-job training.  How many times does he get to take the test before he manages to get it right?  Fifty times?  A hundred times?

What's it going to take for you to finally admit these two clowns are EPIC f**k-ups who spend most days trying to think up new ways to waste your tax dollars?

What's it going to take?

Jennings and the Dump | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
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