Showing posts with label Westminster Finance fiscal discipline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Westminster Finance fiscal discipline. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Westminster Eagle: “Westminster mayor says MML convention spending was worth it” By Katie V. Jones

Westminster Eagle: “Westminster mayor says MML convention spending was worth it” By Katie V. Jones

Posted on http://www.explorecarroll.com/ 9/17/08


As for a $1,500 dinner bill, Ferguson is adamant that he picked up the expenses for the meal. "I paid for that," Ferguson said of the meal, adding, "The city doesn't pick up a dime for me and my wife to go [to the convention]. I pay for my registration and our hotel."
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Westminster Mayor Tom Ferguson this week defended sending 15 appointed and elected officials to the Maryland Municipal League Convention this past summer despite a price tag of $19,000 and a dinner bill that totaled $1,500.

The four-day convention held in Ocean City offers symposiums and seminars dealing with a variety of issues and subjects pertinent to municipalities, Ferguson said.

The governor and his cabinet also attend one day, hosting roundtable meetings to allow discussions about such topics as transportation and the environment, he said.

"There is no way I can put a dollar value..." on the event, Ferguson said. "It is an opportunity to have interaction with peers around... Maryland... to pick up new ideas."

The issue of the expense was raised in a story that appeared in the Carroll County Times.

Ferguson said the convention is typically attended by council members, the mayor and department heads. This year, three additional people attended because Larry Bloom, superintendent of Westminster's street department, was honored as the MML employee of the year, Ferguson said. Bloom's wife and his immediate boss, Jeff Glass and his wife, attended the event.

"It is quite an honor and one he clearly deserves," Ferguson said of Bloom. "It speaks well of the city and him personally to get that type of recognition."

As for a $1,500 dinner bill, Ferguson is adamant that he picked up the expenses for the meal.

"I paid for that," Ferguson said of the meal, adding, "The city doesn't pick up a dime for me and my wife to go [to the convention]. I pay for my registration and our hotel."


*****

Related: Recent Westminster Eagle and Sunday Carroll Eagle columns by Kevin Dayhoff

Be critical of spending, but MML has been worthwhile
Published September 17, 2008 by Westminster Eagle
There has been a fair amount of discussion of late regarding published accounts of the June trip by 15 appointed and elected officials from Westminster...

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2008/09/recent-westminster-eagle-and-sunday_23.html

20080923 Recent Westminster Eagle and Sunday Carroll Eagle columns

NBH: http://kbetrue.livejournal.com/60014.html

20080917 Westminster mayor says convention spending worth it KJones

Monday, September 22, 2008

Westminster Eagle: Be critical of spending, but MML has been worthwhile by Kevin Dayhoff


Westminster Eagle: Be critical of spending, but MML has been worthwhile by Kevin Dayhoff

Posted on http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion-talk/ 9/17/08

There has been a fair amount of discussion of late regarding published accounts of the June trip by 15 appointed and elected officials from Westminster to attend the annual Maryland Municipal League summer convention -- which city officials acknowledge cost approximately $19,000 in taxpayer money.

The reaction on the street and in the grocery store checkout line was, to be polite, outrage. "Where were their heads when they made this harebrained decision?" asked an acquaintance while I was munching on fries and a roast beef sandwich at Baugher's.

Well, have a seat and take a deep breath. For you see, I can't entirely go along with the populist rabble on this one.

Yes, I enjoy my reputation as a tightwad penny pincher, for which I have endured eloquent criticism in the past -- criticism that comes from those who believe tax and spend big government is the answer to all the challenges in our community.

At a time when city officials are, to the best of my knowledge, for the first time in Westminster history laying off employees due to budget constraints, raising taxes and actively discussing curtailing city services; was it really wise to spend $19,000 on a convention -- which included a $1,500 "team-building dinner?"

Probably not. As one person said to me, it doesn't meet the smell test.

City officials have defended the expense of attending the MML convention, as well they should, by saying in affect that the conference is cost effective.

However, by all accounts, they missed the big picture in defense of the expenditure in that the real challenge facing Westminster is a community conversation over the growth of city government and the spending priorities and policies of the current administration.

The cost of the MML convention served as a lightning rod for the frustration of many folks in the community concerning the past several years when conflicting messages have been telegraphed to the public about city finances. For example, in the last several years the city has added new administrative positions at a cost of more than $200,000 a year -- all the while pleading poverty.

If you want to be upset over the spending priorities and the lack of fiscal discipline of the current administration; have at it.

However, I would leave the MML out of it. For my money, MML is actually part of the solution.

To be fair, the current administration campaigned on the need for increased spending, taxes, bureaucracy and larger government. To now be angry because they've been true to their word is disingenuous at best.

When I was an elected official with the city, I attended six conferences in Ocean City and I continue to keep in touch with MML officials and stay current with MML initiatives, programs, conferences and seminars.

The annual summer convention has grown over the years into a must-attend event for statewide elected leaders as well as municipal officials. Even though it's held in Ocean City, it is a far cry from a vacation at the beach. It's a great deal of work crammed into too few days.

What city officials ought to have done is give a "show me the money" report on what an invaluable service the MML and the summer convention provides our community. There really is bang for that buck, but it's hard to hear that bang over the sound of public protest.

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kdayhoff@carr.org.

http://www.explorecarroll.com/opinion/1005/be-critical-spending-but-mml-has-been-worthwhile/

20080917 WE Be critical of spending but MML has been worthwhile

(564 words)

Monday, September 8, 2008

Thoughts on Westminster posting an agenda in a timely manner

Thoughts on Westminster posting an agenda in a timely manner

The existentialism of the simple task of Westminster city officials posting an agenda for its council meetings in a timely manner

September 8, 2008 by Kevin Dayhoff


After an e-mail to a city official earlier in the day; for which I never did get a response, the city of Westminster has finally posted an agenda on the city’s web site.

Heck, I’m just not sure what their rush was – the agenda was posted at approximately 3:22 pm. The meeting is 3 ½ hours away…

Since 2005 the city of Westminster has added two new positions – a city manager and a director of administration at an annual cost to the taxpayer of over $200,000 and yet the city can’t manage to get an council meeting agenda posted timely – or adopt a budget or have an annual audit performed on a timely basis.

The city spent anywhere from $20,000 to over $40,000, depending on whose version of the story suits your fancy, to move some offices to a rented building from City Hall and other offices from the rented building back over to City Hall; in order to provide better services. It was, in reality, rearranging the deck chairs on The Titanic. And yet the city all-too frequently can’t get an agenda posted on a timely basis.

The city increased taxes, increased the size of government, has borrowed money like there is no tomorrow and is actively discussing cutting back on city services – in order to serve us better. And yet the city seems to have a great deal of difficulty in posting an agenda on a timely basis on a web site that is so woefully inadequate and opaque, it often seems like the city resents even having a web site…

Web sites can be difficult as I am all too aware; however in theory, a web site is no longer an afterthought or a bother, it is a critical information dissemination resource in today’s governance. Then again there are many folks who find current Westminster government so opaque, unapproachable, and inaccessible, that the web site is probably emblematic of a government that all too often seems too annoyed by citizen contact to be bothered with disseminating information.

After-all, our elected officials are some of the smartest folks in the world – and they certainly know what is best for us; so having meaningful contact with the public is probably unnecessary now isn’t it?

I’m glad that Westminster citizens work for such an august group of elitists. It gives us a purpose in our backward shabby meager existence.

Related:

20071130 City municipal offices relocate by Ryan Marshall

20080611 No agenda is sign of poor government

20080720 Carroll County Times Westminster shutting out the public

20080908 Thoughts on Westminster posting an agenda in a timely manner

Friday, August 29, 2008

Carroll County Times Editorial: City was wasteful in spending

Carroll County Times Editorial: City was wasteful in spending

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

City was wasteful in spending

No matter how the mayor or Westminster or council members want to spin it, sending 15 people to a conference and then racking up a $1,500 bill for an expensive meal of lobster and alcohol is not prudent given the city's dire financial situation.

In fact, it was just a month ago that Mayor Thomas Ferguson, in announcing the elimination of several positions and firing of several employees, said, "[The layoffs] are clearly driven by the economic environment we're in. Revenue is not growing."

He also said, "The city is looking at all aspects of the government to find productivity gains and cost savings."

Well, perhaps not all aspects.

In all it cost the city $19,000 to send 15 people to the Maryland Municipal League conference. The conference itself can be a good, learning experience. But the city could have done as most companies watching dollars do and saved money by sending half as many people and having them report back to everyone else about what they learned.

And then there's the matter of the extravagant dinner at the expensive Fager's Island restaurant and Bar, which some on the council have tried to pass off as worthwhile for its "team building" value, at a cost of almost $1,500.

Most families, when faced with mounting bills and difficulty paying, don't go out for extravagant dinners or engage in other wasteful spending. Perhaps a cookout with hamburgers and hotdogs would have been better for the "team building" atmosphere than throwing money around like there's no tomorrow, even as these same officials lamented the lack of money that is forcing them to fire people.

The mayor says he will pay the bill out of his own pocket. He says he has done that in the past. But the council members and others who spent the evening drinking alcohol and eating lobster amount to a slap in the face to the employees who were terminated, supposedly, because of budget woes. It's also a slap in the face to taxpayers, who all through the budget season listened to them moan and groan about how tight money was - to the point that the council never did hold a public hearing on the final budget.

Westminster voters today should be asking themselves about the decision-making abilities of the people who they have elected to office.

In front of the public, they whine about having no money in the budget. Then they scoot off in droves to a conference where money - that same tax money - flows quite freely. And upon being questioned, they defend their extravagance as somehow necessary and helpful to the city.

This conference is just one example, but if it is indicative of the way Westminster handles its finances, it is no wonder money is tight and people need to be laid off to pay for the alcohol and lobster.


20071130 City municipal offices relocate by Ryan Marshall

20080611 No agenda is sign of poor government

20080720 Carroll County Times Westminster shutting out the public

20080908 Thoughts on Westminster posting an agenda in a timely manner

20080827 Carroll County Times editorial: City was wasteful in spending

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/08/27/news/opinion/editorial/editorial533.txt

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Westminster officials: Spending $19,000 on conference worth it

Westminster officials: Spending $19,000 on conference worth it

By Bryan Schutt, Carroll County Times Staff Writer
Sunday, August 24, 2008

Westminster officials said the roughly $19,000 of expenses related to sending 15 employees to the Maryland Municipal League Conference on the Eastern Shore this past June wasn’t excessive, and they argue that the benefits from attending far outweigh the costs.

They also said the nearly $1,500 they spent on a social dinner for about 16 people that the city was to pay for was justified.

The bill, incurred at Fager’s Island Restaurant and Bar in Ocean City, included about $1,000 in food charges and $200 in alcohol charges plus a tip. The expenses were part of information received through a Public Information Act request filed by the Carroll County Times.

Unbeknownst to the officials, Mayor Thomas Ferguson said he planned to reimburse the city for the dinner bill, as he said he has in the past. Ferguson declined to offer proof showing he had paid the past dinner bills.

[…]

The 15-person contingent of city employees and officials attended the Ocean City conference from June 22 through 25. The dinner was on the night of June 22.

Reach staff writer Bryan Schutt at 410-857-7886 or bryan.schutt@carrollcountytimes.com.

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/08/24/news/local_news/newsstory4.txt

20071130 City municipal offices relocate by Ryan Marshall

20080611 No agenda is sign of poor government

20080720 Carroll County Times Westminster shutting out the public

20080908 Thoughts on Westminster posting an agenda in a timely manner

20080827 Carroll County Times editorial: City was wasteful in spending

20080824 Westminster officials Spending 19K on conference worth it

Saturday, December 8, 2007

20071130 City municipal offices relocate by Ryan Marshall

20071130 City municipal offices relocate by Ryan Marshall

Carroll County News Briefs for Friday, November 30, 2007

Carroll County Times: City municipal offices relocate

Thursday was moving day for some of Westminster’s municipal offices.

The city’s public works departments, planning staff and the office of the city administrator have moved from City Hall to 56 W. Main St., where the economic development and finance offices are already located.

The housing and human resources departments will move from that building to City Hall.

The shuffling was meant to get the city’s administrative offices together at the Main Street building, Mayor Thomas Ferguson said.

— Ryan Marshall

20071130 City municipal offices relocate by Ryan Marshall