Editorial by Matt Marquardt –
This mayor, council and administrator continue to ignore the real problems in Mason City and make new ones, and people are taking notice.
Case in point, the move to privatize the city’s sanitation department and the revelation that more departments will face the same scrutiny. As NIT has written for months, the morale at City Hall is at all-time lows, and the evidence is piling up as to why. Everyone’s job is on the line; the old ways are no longer good enough. Mayor Bookmeyer has made it clear he knows better than all his predecessors and he has set out to implement his 21st century dogmas; we, his subjects, are lazy and do not work hard enough. We are not “lean” enough. Bookmeyer has determined that only through the pursuit of a bottom line and a profit can the city reach its peak potential. City workers are feeding at the trough and they need to go, one at a time or now, perhaps, a department at a time.
(PHOTO: Council members Travis Hickey and Alex Kuhn listen to City Administrator Brent Trout describe plans to possibly privatize one or more city departments. Kuhn was the lone dissenter and wanted no part of it.)
Bookmeyer sits at the meetings, mostly quiet, but behind the scenes conducts Brent Trout to set about on this mission; he has his council in place, perhaps five out of six sold on the idea. Their mission is to downsize City Hall and hire what amounts to a hodge-podge Haliburton to take over. Those of you in the know remember the U.S military followed this same plan in the second Iraqi war. Duties once performed by military were farmed out to private companies like Haliburton. That’s why it cost the military astronomical sums to wash loads of clothes or deliver fuel from Kuwait to the battlefield; the private sector was in control, and they could charge whatever they wanted. The taxpayers didn’t find out until later that we got screwed.
Now, you and I face this same transformation here in Mason City. After sanitation falls, which department is next? The MCPD? Has the mayor already instructed Brent Trout to call Blackwater for a bid?
I call this “dogma” fewer services for fewer people for fewer dollars. Even as our city pool sat empty this glorious weekend, hot temps and hot tempers flaring, Central Park and the Cultural Crescent were primped and primed for the Mercedes and Infinity drivers; their playground was immaculate. The city’s restless youth took to the streets with reckless abandon; they had our brave law enforcement officers on their heels at times, reaching for gas and smoke canisters, sometimes desperately calling all over the area for backup as brawls erupted all over the Music Man’s favorite park. Mr. Toot might have dropped his trombone and ran had he been there.
Our Mayor and Council were not to be seen nor heard. Where were they? Why have they swept this under the rug? Will this calamity ever be addressed, explained to the public? Is running a city only about dollars and cents, or is it also about serving all the citizens, the youth included? Why is the focus on ignoring the many to please the few?
(PHOTO: Councilman Scott Tornquist told the sanitation workers that they should embrace the request for proposals process as their jobs are on the line.)
This Mayor and Council need to step away from the accounting ledger for two minutes and look around. The police are down several officers; the morale at the fire department is sinking. These are our sworn protectors. The youth of the city, many abandoned by their parents to one extent or another, are never given a second thought by city leaders, but yet, they live here too. They are becoming more bold; they have disdain for law enforcement and some of them are becoming vicious. This city will devolve into pandemonium if City Hall, law enforcement, parents and volunteers do not get their act together and start addressing this forgotten segment of the population. This is a problem with no bottom line, no red ribbon to be cut; it is not confined to a blue zone. It may be impossible for our leaders to grasp this issue, but they must. The creative thinking may not exist at the council table, but something must be done. The foundation of the city is crumbling even as its core gleams in golden light when the sun sets.
Citizens, councilors, mayor, parents, volunteers, take notice and do something.
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VIDEO:
Watch the Mason City Council, Mayor Eric Bookmeyer and City Administrator Brent Trout discuss the privatization of of the sanitation department and the possibility of more to come. 55 minutes.
Peter L:
I stand by my Item 4, as it has been proven over and over again to improve lives within a community. To help people become more productive, and better members of the community. This is why it is so important that organizations such as United Way must focus on such amenities in a community, and restructure to avail the most dollars collected, go to such entities that support mental health, and other basic functions.
As for your demands, I will suggest you have already tried the case in the court of public opinion. So much has been said, that it will work against you in civil court. Sorry old sock, but if you were at one time serious about litigation, the best thing you could have done is to remain silent. Anything said could be used against you in a court of law.
Reggie wins the White Carnation. It is about perception. When we want others to invest their money and time in our community, we have to show we are worth it.
Look at where communities are growing, examine what they have, then plant the seed here.
It you want to do something quickly that will have some impact, get behind the lowering of property taxes on commercial as well as residential. Commercial is now 100 percent of assessed value while residential is close to 50 (I’m not sure of the exact number). This would help to free up capital for business. Residential, those numbers (50 percent) are hitting our senior citizens (hard) and caused many to condsider moving elsewhere…if they haven’t already.
We, here in Florida, for instance, paid $318.00 property taxes this year, down from $380.00 last year…and the law is your taxes cannot be raised more than 3 percent per year.
Matt you say “something must be done” but you don’t give any suggestions.You throw the names haliburton and blackwater out as red meat. You say morale at city hall is at a all time low.Morale,because of the economy,around the country is low.Why don’t you give us 10 specific things that you would do if you were in charge to bring taxes down, involve young people in the community, bring in jobs, keep the jobs we have ,clean up the north end and balance the city budget.You might want to consult with watchdog because he said he knew how to do it.I really would like to hear your ideas.
You can start out by organizing a sports league for roughians. That would start to build up cohesion in the troubled neighborhoods, and give them an outlet for displaced aggression, thereby reducing the crimes committed (for at least the times the sports games are running). Get creative…something other than baseball, softballs etc. Soccer is a cheap sport without extra equipment, rugby is as well. Before you scoff, understand where I’m going with this.
1. Build up unity, get people out of their element into a new one 2. outlet for aggression 3. renewed sense of purpose 4. physical exercise over drinking 40 ounces and smoking cigs.
offer real money prizes as well to give them a reason to work together and compete.
Also, individual sports like skateboarding competitions and that kind of thing as well should be increased. Recreation is the key. Once they are pumped up and sweating, the other things won’t seem as burdensome.
Remember phys education in school? It was designed for a purpose, because it was correctly identified that a healthy mind and civic responsibility is coupled with a healthy body.
Also, the other idea I have for the reformation of the troubled is to quite literally begin paying them for good behavior. Pay them to stay out of trouble. Calculate the costs of incarceration and the burden on our system and formulate a weekly or monthly payment for people that don’t break the law and keep themselves clean.
Sound ridiculous? I don’t think so. Incentives are what people need. We all have them in some form or another. It’s the carrot that is dangled in front of the donkey. It keeps us going.
Imagine if people could collect a good citizen rebate each month?
You can scoff, or you can really fix the problems by going out of your comfort zone as to what is considered ‘normal’.
Your points are well taken, but I wonder how and or whom do you propose should pay for all of this?
…and I nominate Bob Johnson to be the sports director for Mason City’s first “Roughian League”. LOL. I’m not kidding.
I think the sanitation dept. should be left alone.
I have worked with “lean” companies. What a mess! The only thing lean is service, quality and the number of people forced to do the work.
Hell no to the privatization of the sanitation department.
@Reggie: It is not my job to do the work of our elected officials and solve every problem in this city. To top it off you want 10 examples. How about asking the mayor or Scott Tornquist or Janet Solberg or one of the others to do this? They hold office. Reggie, you’re the best, you are not shy about asking for help. I wonder if you are one of the clueless souls holding office at City Hall? Here is some food for thought:
YOUTH
I would take a good hard look at the Youth Task Force, for example, and ask them what have they done for the youth in this city with the dollars they are given. I see billboards and little else. That doesn’t cut it. Spend those dollars elsewhere. As I wrote, a consortium of concerned persons from the schools, City Hall, parents, caring citizens and students need to work together using the resources we have to be creative and design a place for the under 21 crowd to spend time. I see a mall with 5 empty movie theaters. It is downtown near the MCPD. That side of the mall would make a great Student Union with pool tables, $1 movies, open mic / live music, concessions, a lounge area with soft drinks, etc. Parents could chaperone; the police could walk through, students would sign a paper along with parents that they promise to behave or there would be a consequence. Instead of wasting the $70,000+ to move walls and paint in City Hall this summer, spend it there. This is crime prevention and placates the youth.
JOBS AND BUSINESS
You can keep the jobs we have first of all by not gutting City Hall and treating your fellow citizens and co-workers as the enemy, as this administration does. You can perform certain tasks without hiring from Des Moines but instead hiring MC citizens, even as temp workers. Keep the dam dollars here for god’s sake instead of sending them out of the city, never to return. As long as the revenue supports it, do not cut it (sanitation). Morale is low in City Hall due to the mayor’s combative attitude toward city staff, not simply due to a poor economy we all are facing.
As far as new jobs, that is up to private enterprise to decide to come here. When they show interest, they can be courted by City Hall, and plenty has been done to make North Iowa attractive to the business community. The state is working to lower commercial property tax rates; that alone will be a huge selling point, maybe better than anything we can do locally. However, I would argue it is the council’s, mayor’s and City Hall’s job to work on infrastructure, city code, running the city, and keeping it harmonious, not playing Donald Trump and pretending to be masters of business; they are not equipped for this. None of them have the business acumen to sit down with CEO’s of large corporations and schmooze; quite likely they would do more harm than good and they would go to Marshalltown or Fort Dodge. This should be left to the bankers and even the Brent Willetts of the world. Our City Hall needs to re-focus on re-building Mason City from the inside.
NORTH END
I have bounced ideas off certain folks about the north end. I suggested to a well-known realtor that the city should embark on a program of re-organizing and re-designing the trouble spots there (this is called city planning). Recognizing that this would take years to accomplish (government moves slow), design a program that would facilitate the moving of houses (like Mercy did when they paved their parking lots) out of the north end. The homes could be moved to other neighborhoods or new neighborhoods where open lots exist; they could be bought by investors (a public-private joint program). A deal with a home-mover could be made in bulk to lower the cost per house that is moved. Leave the empty north end lots as green space with an eye to the future of what the north end would someday become. A large park? A modern trailer park? A business park? Prairie land? Forest with trails? Home Depot? I don’t have all those answers sitting here Saturday morning, but clearing that area out with a clean slate is the place to start. What is there now continues to deteriorate and has no prospects in the coming decades.
Feel free to leave your own ideas, Mason City needs them.
No Matt I am NOT one of the “clueless souls holding office at city hall”. I am just a soul,sometimes probably clueless, trying to get by. Good idea for the youth and you realized it will take a funding source AND you identified a source.The business part is more complicated I think.How does Mason City set itself apart from the other cities in Iowa?I also think that we,Mason City,has had a bad reputation around the state as anti-business.I know a lot of people on NIT don’t agree but I think that will take some time AND a better economy to cure.
So your answer to the problem on the North end is to clear out the bad parts?That will be quite hard because it is so subjective.Don’t move my house or business, move theirs. Until we get some jobs and a better climate in all of Mason City we would just be moving the problem from one part of the city to another.
But hey Matt,not bad.
Well I appreciate the positive answer. I say identify the slum houses, run down code breaking houses, or abandoned properties first. Clear them out either by moving them or demolishing them (the city just did this at a house on South Jersey Ave this spring, a known drug house that partially burned … now a vacant property and a theoretical location to move a north end home to). Start there. Keep the cleared areas nice and trimmed. As I said, a program should be put in place first where there is an incentive for property owners to move their homes out or just give them up. It would be no easy quick fix but in this case there does not appear to be one. There would have to be a master plan ahead of time for the land once enough area is cleared.
If the council really wants to know why the morale is so low at the city they need to start by looking at the administrator. Managements attitude toward employees is the key to poor attitudes at any work-place.The council needs to find out if the employees have any faith in the leadership of their workplace then be willing to take into count the employees thoughts and ideals and make changes accordingly. How about doing a survey of all the city workers and see what they are thinking.Front line employees know the most about what is going on in the company.
Ten ideas to help our City.
1· Improve the look of Mason City. I am not talking dollars, but habits and attitudes. As well, enforce what laws we have, and enact others where needed to prevent blight.
2· Enact, and enforce a curfew. Include a parental responsibility clause, so that consequences are met by both the offender, and their parents.
3· Increase law enforcement funding. Especially where it relates to traffic enforcement.
4· Increase funding for Mental Health in the community. What we have now is woefully inadequate.
5· Look at other communities that are succeeding. What do they do? How do they act? What is allowed, and what is not allowed?
6· Assist businesses who want to expand in our community, but with some limitations. Do not be supplying taxpayers funds to a business that will lower the quality of life in our city. And make sure those who come knocking, have their plan of operation clearly spelled out in detail, and freely distribute it to any citizen who desires it.
7· Establish a low-income housing assistance program. There are ways to help low-income home owners improve the structure and efficiency of where they live. It must be restricted to owner/occupants, and not for-profit buildings.
8· Examine housing laws for rental housing, ensure they protect both renters, AND owners. Many of our Landlords do provide decent and proper housing, and take care of urgent issues as they arise. include in semi-annual inspections to input from occupants.
9· Keep up the good work our City does in collection of refuse, cleaning streets, patching roads, plowing snow, and making advancements on our aging water system and sanitary facilities.
10· It is in the best interests of our citizens to think about block clubs and the like. Help each other out. Have dinner together once or twice a year. Take even more pride in where you live.
These are but a few ideas, without much detail, or reasoning why they can and will work. Most are not that hard, others will take time. But all of them will do one thing. Make our community a better place to live, and show outsiders we care.
Great list.Some of your ideas have to do with “perception”. How do other people perceive Mason City.How do we perceive ourselves. How can we change that perception? We are all in this together and together we can make real changes.
Unfortunately I think it’s time to really look at your #2.Vandalism,theft and general mayhem have gotten out of hand.A curfew should be seriously studied.
EJ…I’m jealous of your command of the English language….i.e. “…how Mason is ran.” and youre rather than the correct you’re and of course the simple word, don’t rather thantheone you use dont.
After reading your intelligent response it’s no wonder the city is loaded with “cripples” from the city council on up.
Large item pick up in Mason City is Friday and Monday. I’m sure that’s a back breaker of a day for our sanitation workers. Again, a service that we could lose with a private company. And all of you that are complaining about how many hours these men work……I’d like to see anyone of you take on this task. It’s hard manual labor, back breaking work. We are very fortunate to have these 12 men take care of our trash. So they are salaried, so what? So are the big suits in city hall and they sit behind their cushy desks and complain that their working conditions are so terrible and we need to remodel city hall. I challenge Bookmeyer, Trout, and all the council to get off their butts and go out with the 12 men and pick up trash. Maybe then they will see how hard they work, be appreciative of the services, and put this issue to an end. There you go Alex, you rode along with the police, how about riding along with the sanitation crew? One last comment….. It’s too bad that someone can’t take out the trash at city hall!
EMANRESU and ANONYMOUS…my advise to you two is run, don’t walk, and put Mason City in your rear view mirror, just as we did. In our case we put more than 1,600 miles between us and that one horse town and its all-impotent so-called leaders and department heads.
You two are wise beyond your years and could put that to better use in a differing environment. As an example, we now live in a 160,000 population city and a county of more that 700,000, yet the City Manager makes only $140,000 and the County Manager even less. Your Trout, with benefits, exceeds $140,000. Stangler $100,000, Berrglan(?) $80,000, City Engineer nearly $80,000…and those salaries, to name a few, do not include benefits…i.e. $800.00 for health care (per month) ipers, etc. etc.
And those benefits are not taxed!!!
Sounds like youre jealous, you dont even live here so why are you so concerned about how Mason is ran? Mind your own business.
sijr, got a question for ya…why DO you care? You seem so proud to point out that you left MC in your rearview mirror yet you keep looking back. WHY? Why do you care about our “crap” town? It would seem to me that if i was “intelligent” and moved 1600 miles away, i wouldn’t waste my time with keeping up with this city and/or blogging about it. I’d have better things to do with my time. I do respect your right to blog about anything you choose. I’m just trying to understand why i guess. I left a small town more than 20 years ago. NEVER looked back and don’t keep up or care what happens there. Got better things to do with my time.
I think from time to time the city needs to look at what they are doing and see if they are providing a good service at a good cost. I do hope that they can do this fairly and evenly ( apples to apples ). Do I beleive this will be done, no, not with this mayor and administrator. If they want to look at depts and go lean then lets look at ALL DEPTS AND THAT INCLUDES MANAGEMENT. If they want to be lean then lets “lean” on management as well, it needs to start at the top. Has anyone seen what Brent Trout makes, are we really getting what we are paying for? NO, not when he’s hiring others to make his decisions for him for one. Lets look at the city engineer who on numerous jobs has been off with his estimates and calculations and that costs you and I money that didn’t need to be. For what he gets paid thats not lean. What about the O & M manager, from what I’ve been told he doesn’t really make any big decisions any more without being told what to say or do from uptown. Is he really needed, at what he gets paid, if he is making no real decisions? From what I have heard the sanitation super has a pretty good gig for what he is making as well. These are just a few members of management with in the city that need to be looked at as well. Like I said before looking at yourself from time to time is a good thing but you need to look at the whole package starting from the top. P.S. wages and info is all of public record
It sounds like they want to run this city like a business when they talk about going lean. Any business that goes lean has to look at their management team. If what you are saying is true with the overpay and little or lack of achievement on their part then the council should be looking at them as well.
UNIONS … biggest downfall! Not only government workers, but look at the faltering education system as well. Unions do nothing but destroy and drive jobs out of the country and have ruined our education system !!!!! City employees should pay at least half of their healthcare premiums with a higher deductible.
The garbage dept is definately over staffed if they only have to work a 6 hour day and yet reap all the benefits of a full time worker! I too have seen city employees on location with one person doing the work while 5 or more watch ! WTF ? And then there is the snow removal program…why does a snowplow need to clear the same street 5or6 times after a snowfall? It is just to drive up overtime pay….Bullsh*t !
GET REAL…Nope, don’t even live anywhere close to your “crap” city…but spent more than 15 years there and had more than enough of local government and “some” of its so-called workers to last a lifetime.
You, obviously know nothing about the workings of the city…and are like a majorty of those on the left, gimme, gimme. I did work in newspaper for more than 30 years and know a story when I see it…unlike yourself who, apparently, needs to be spoon fed.
Why not just crawl back in your hole and leave this blog to people with intelligence!!!
Once more, to all you 9-dollar-hollars out there: the city has yet to prove their *actual* cost for providing this service. Once they do that, you can rightfully say that $9 is cheap. But until then, and until we know how each dollar is collected and spent, it’s all theory. And if it does indeed end up being valid, it’s a great deal and it should be left alone. If it’s invalid, a second look at competition is worthwhile.
If it’s not broke, leave it alone… LEAVE IT ALONE!!!
I am so sick of the council and the Mayor. Why fix something that isn’t broke? We need jobs not ending jobs. If Waste Management gets the job the money does not stay in Mason City. Their company is not in this town. They have drivers but all the big money will go out of state!!!!!!
Sounds like Gotham City.
here in belmond the private hauler makes us buy these yellow bags… 10 of them for 20 dollars. you have to take your garbage put it in their yellow bags which are small, make sure they tie and set them on the curb.
we have to pay for double the garbage bags which cause more trash in the long run
If I could buy bags without having to pay a monthly fee I would be money ahead. I only put out garbage every other week or so.
I lived in another town that had a bunch of small independent garbage businessmen. You could hire anyone you wanted and it was about $20 per month. The good news was could have as many cans as I needed and didn’t have to buy stickers for more than one can a week. They never dared leave garbage on the ground if it blew out of can or they would lose their customers. I think that is a better model than a large org like wastemanagement or a municipal provder. Our wages and benefits paid to union employees is too rich for our budget
What was the town’s population? What about recycling? Yard Waste? Large item pick up? Christmas trees? Since our unions are too costly we need to get rid of Police and Fire too? They are Union employees too ya know.
City POPULATION
MARSHALLTOWN 27,552 populatin
$ 10.69- $24.96 per month
SERVICE PROVIDED BY PRIVATE HAULER
Yard waste must be taken to compost facility and citizens will be charged for disposal some general fund money is used to subsidize facility.
BURLINGTON 25,663 population
$ 11.45 per month
Service provided by municipal employees
Yard waste is picked up 3 weeks in spring and 7 weeks in fall for leaf bags only.
BETTENDORF 33,217
$ 12.68 for 64 gallon
Recycling picked up monthly yard waste each bag must have a 50 cents sticker attached. Extra bag of garbage must have a $3.00 sticker
MUSCATINE 22,886
$ 18.25 50lbs or 40 gallon
Recycling picked up bi-weekly, yard waste picked up weekly but must have city of Muscatine bags at a cost of $1.00 each
FORT DODGE 25,206
$14.00 month 35 gallon
Recycling picked up weekly, yard waste picked up weekly at a cost of $1.00 per bag
OTTUMWA 25,023
$16.00 month 1 can
Recycling weekly, yard waste weekly at cost of $1.00 per bag
Nice work. Looks like the citizens of Maon City are getting one of the best deals in the State compared to cities our size. Why waste the time Council? No way it can be done cheaper for services provided.
Horrible idea
Kuhn is the only hope to stop this
And kudos to Kuhn for being the only one to stand up to big chunky monkey in the middle seat. I think Tornquist lost his balls with his hair. Or maybe he didn’t lose them and they are just in his wife’s purse. Hickey? Seems like a good man just scared of dough boy and needs to start doing his homework. Solberg? Clueless as they come. She can’t see anything but the inside of her colon. These clowns gotta go.
City Hall seems to bring on their problems all by their self.. Why in the hell would anyone keep force feeding this Bullshit to the public that is mostly opposed to it???? Remember this come next election.
Thank you “get real”. I WILL. I only hope that everyone else will too. And GET OUT AND VOTE.
If ANYONE thinks that a company like waste management will come in and do the same job and we will still pay $9 or less per month is cracked. I don’t believe it. Not only that but how much sense does this make…Brent said that the workers could be placed in “other” city jobs. So, if that is that case, isn’t the city still paying their wages? How is that going to be cheaper for the city?
They talk about how painful this process may be and that they need to go through this RFP process….well no they don’t. 3 of them can say we are not interested in this, we have more pressing issues to work on. That would kill this whole idea, which is a bad idea. We have more control and accountability of that department with them being city employees and being a city service. I live in Ward 2 and not sure I could vote for Hickey again.
The mayor cant win. He wants to build a comunity center so people will have some where to go and the kid’s will have some thing to do and then NIT bashes him for not doing any thing for the kid’s.
Please. this is not a place for kids to come and spend time at a drop of a hat, to socialize and be kids. It is 2 sheets of ice and offices and workout equipment. Get a clue before you say ignorant things.
So its not for concert’s, hockey game’s, open skating, or anything else kid’s like to do?
Do you live in a fantasy land? That place would be dead outside of the hockey families domineering the joint. They would probably call the cops if some of the non-hockey kids showed up. Get real.
Here is the facts. The sanitation crew is overstaffed. Working six hours a day and getting paid for ten. Now you go to a bidding process and Joe Bohl says private haulers can’t do it for less and they aren’t doing it for less in other areas. Part of that reason is because of the North Iowa Landfill. We have some of the lowest tipping rates in the state. If we took our garbage to lake mills you rate would double because their tipping fees are almost twice as much. So Joe you have to compare apples to apples. Secondly a company like waste management can do it cheaper because their guys will work a full day for the same amount of work. That alone will reduce their costs. Second they will take the recyclables and sell them on the open market and make money from it which will also reduce their costs. Third they would probably utilize a garbage truck with a arm on it. So one guy running the truck will do the work of three city workers. This will reduce their costs and chances for accidents and injuries. In the end the sanitation department will lose out because they are union and will not be willing to bargain to save their jobs because believe me private industry will be able to do it cheaper because they are smarter and know how to do it and still make a profit. Joe Bohl himself has said in his blogs that there are issues that need to be addressed. My prediction is that pride will cost the sanitation department their jobs. I hope I am wrong but I guess time will tell.
Sorry, but you are mistaken. I lived outside city limits and when I had waste management, my bill waa $25-$30 a month..triple of what I pay in the city.
Did’t see where you mentioned the thousands of tons of yard waste picked up every year, or large item pick up, or Christmas tree pickup. Care to factor all that into your Waste Management scenario?
I think my reading the post Joe Bohl is saying he is willing to listen and talk to the city council on any issues they may have with the way the sanitation department is ran. Has the city council directed Trout to talk with the union and employees to try to see if there is common ground or is this just a way to get around negotiating with the employees. I would rather see the jobs stay with the city where they will pay a living wage with benefits. This would not even be an issue if the city leaders could bring in good jobs to the area.
Mason City! What a load of bull. City workers make more than the average worker in the city, pay only $50 a month for medical insurance and have two supervisors, Stangler making $100,000 and Berrglan(?) $80,000 who aren’t worth half the money. Next time you see a group of city workers at a site…check and see how many are working and how many are spectators. One day I witnessed five men planting one tree in the parking lot behind the Dollar Store…just one example. If you’re paying $9 a month for trash removal, just how much do you think the taxpayers are having to put in to cover the cost. It don’t add up otherwise, with each man making at least $15 an hour plus benefits (i.e. the city puts in $750.00 each month in the health care pool for each employee).
Sounds to me like you are jealous!!!
“sijr” If what you say is true what is the amount the tax payers are kicking in. I always thought it was a self supporting operation. The so called city administrator sure didn’t seem to have any facts or figures. Thats an idea lets lean out the city administrator.
I find it amusing how people are always so quick to jump on City employee’s wages and beniefit package. Twenty years ago nobody wanted one of those “crappy” City jobs because there were two cement plants, numerous manufacturing plants, and other good paying jobs people could work at before lowering themselves to the level of a public servant..Oh My!! Shoe is on the other foot now with all the jobs gone huh?
To sijr, I am sorry but you are full figures that you must have pulled out of your ass. Plain and simple you don’t know what you are talking about. Where do you work, the globe???
Matt – I will bring up the same question with you as I did with Peter on his article, it is listed under this comment. Look forward to hearing your response. Thanks.
Mr. Children – I understand your frustration and respect your opinion, but when KUHN stands up and says NO the way he did when he was outnumbered at the table 7-1; you have to give him some credit. He won that argument last night and took guts to stand up to all of them the way he did. In my opinion; you lose credibility when you don’t give him some respect for actually doing what you think he should do. It goes to prove you will bash all of them no matter what they do, even if you agree with one of them; in this case KUHN.
OK: I gave Mr. Kuhn his props in the story. I mentioned that he was totally against privatizing the sanitation department. Please look again. I will be writing another editorial about the council perhaps yet this week. Then you will see where I stand with each of the council members and the mayor. I do appreciate you bringing this up, he does deserve credit for his bold stand. He may be developing into the leader this city needs.
I do know lots of people from towns that have there garbage run by private companys and they all say the exact same thing..SHIT. they can not stand what they have to go threw just to get there garbage picked up. Let alone what they have to pay for it. It might look good know and always does right away but you wait if it goes to private like i sayed previously, better start opening your wallets and shelling out more dough. If this council wants to start saving money maybe we better look into quality work and workers like we already have instead of hiring it done to outside companys because it really worked out well on the two bridges in town that we already have to dump a shit load of money into already. Im only 26 years old and have lived in this town my whole life and quite frankly you older people wonder why people my age and younger are leaving this town. I dont want to but for christ sake this is simple simon shit, if it aint broke..dont fix it.
Many of these departments should be run privately. Much savings in the long run. Why not save the $200,000 like Mr. Hickey said.
Why not save some of that money by getting rid of Brent Trout. That would save over 100 grand a year!
I am sorry, but I know how the city works. It would just be another 200k that they would piss away on something else. Maybe remodel city hall!!
What other services might you be interested in J. Snell? Ambulance? Ha don’t make me vomit. Your family tried to milk money out of the public and that did not work for you. Bad management was your downfall. The MCFD now provides as good or better of service, cost taxpayers nothing and pays the medics twice what you did.
Mr Snell, with all due respect, what the City saves, does not equate what it will cost the citizens. I am willing to bet that the figure offered by Councilman Hickey is based upon incomplete and addled accounting.
While $200,000 might be saved by the city, the costs to citizens could very well exceed that under a privatization scheme.
The motivation of this move is at the very least, suspect.
I represent the men in the sanitation department. We just wrapped up negotiations on a 4 year contract with the city and during these negotiations not once did Brent Trout or anyone else in city management make any proposals to change the incentive plan. We feel very confident that if the private haulers have to come in and meet or beat the current level of service we shall measure up very well. I think people should call around to other cities in Iowa and ask what they are paying for service then call your council members and tell them to leave their hands off this service before it ends up costing us all more money.
Joe.
I think you will find a private company will be able to do it cheaper and still provide the same service. In the end the sanitation department will lose out and they will end up working for someone else. Something to think about. It has already been shown that it is pretty simple to save the taxpayers $200,000 dollars. By working 7 to 8 people 10 hour days instead of 12 guys working only six hour days.
Ya they will work for someone else for CRAP wages, and there WILL be jobs lost. And once the city is out of the business, it is out for good. What a mess.
Find me a private hauler that will pick up 128 bags of leaves from ONE HOME by Mercy Hospital (I’ve seen it happen) for what that home owner pays now and I’ll eat crow. There is no private hauler who will provide ALL three services for less than $10 a month…anywhere!!!
I respect your opinion and would agree some issue may need to be addressed. I have looked into many other cities in Iowa some are municipal run and some are private and I can tell you the private haulers are not doing this work cheaper if we look at monthly rates.
If you think a private company can do this cheaper than 9.60 a month, you don’t live here. You must be in never,never land!!!! Don’t forget to compare apples to apples. (same exact services) And don’t forget this private company wants to make some profit. How much cheaper do you really think it would even be possible to do this for??? If just for shits and giggles you could get this done for say half price, you would save an astounding 57.60 in a fricking year!!!! IS THAT REALLY WORTH IT??? I don’t think so. Ask the M.C. Public school system how that privatization worked out for them a few years. Ask anyone who worked for North Iowa Medical Center before they merged with Mercy how it worked out for them.. It didn’t. End of story..
anonymous, I live in Clear Lake and pay 9.29 per month plus 2.10 for land fill fee. Here is what i get for that Garbage once per week and recycle twice a month. No leaf pick up. Hardly compares to what you get. Mason City offers a service only trying to break even, a private company is here to make money. They will take a loss the first couple of years knowing they will take you to the cleaners in the end.
Joe, I for one would like to thank you and the other workers in your department. I think you do an amazing job. I am hoping and praying that all of this works out and all of you are able to keep your jobs and continue providing the community with this wonderful services you have been providing for many years.
Thank you it is greatly appreciated. Hopefully we can continue providing a quality service to the citizens of Mason City.
There is a real simple answer to the problem, put your phones on redial to all the council members and mayor until they get it pounded into there heads that they are retarded and should all do the right thing and step down and let new members that actually care about the community take there spots. Its pretty obvious that they have no idea that this is iowa and we are a community based state and town. We dont shit in our neighbors back yard, we dont sit around and watch people through hard times, we help each other. I guess if you want mason city to be run by big companys you better get your wallets out cuz that shit is never cheap and apparently the council hasnt realized that yet. Just remember election time, there are going to be alot of new names on the ballet for all different positions so dont be afraid to pick a new one.
I think it would show how the public feels if everyone for one week took their garbage down to city hall and dumped it on Trout’s and Bookmeyer’s desk or at least at the front door. Maybe that would send a message. And I agree with the fact that we need to take care of our own in this community. These gentlemen have provided us with a very good service at a very good rate. Let’s get this stopped NOW!
It’s obvious that no matter what the public opinion is, Trout and Bookmeyer are not going to listen to the public. This is getting ridiculous. These are elected officials, with the exception of Trout, and as elected officials, isn’t it their duty to consider what the “public” wants????? I hope none of these people get too comfortable in their seats, I can see them being voted out in the next election. Then we will need a new mayor and council to clean up the mess this one has created.
Isn’t also their responsibility to reduce costs and do what is best for the taxpayers?
If you’re so concerned about where your tax dollars are going….aren’t you concerned about the salary that we are paying Trout????
I HOPE THERE IS SOMEBODY TO TAKE THE TRASH OUT BECAUSE IF WE HAVE TO PAY WASTE MANAGEMENT TO DO IT WE ARE GOING TO BE BROKE!
Matt-I agree with you in part. I do think there is some waste in our city that could be eliminated. I am not referring necessarily to the sanitation department. People do not understand what incentave means although I am not entirely in favor of that. It tends to have the workers taking short cuts and misusing equipment if it is not watched. However, I do agree with you on our young people. They can say all they want that it is the parents responsibility but obviously a section of the parents have no intention of parenting. They all want to be friends with their kids and that won’t work. Kids need to be taught resposibilty and respect and it just doesn’t happen all to often in today’s society. Over the years I have seen lots of programs for kids put on by the park and rec and the city working with the schools. It just doesn’t work because the tough’s take over and the decent kids won’t go so it fails. As long as the kids know there is no penalty for their actions we will not be able to control them. They will stand right in front of you and tell you that you can’t do anything to them because they are kid’s. They are taught that in school. My answer to them is, tell me how you feel about that when you get out of the hospital. They know even the police can’t do anything to them. The milk-sop judges will turn them loose and they know it. They need DISCIPLINE and they are not getting it.
What do you expect? The public unions keep asking for more and more and more and more, why the people who are paying the bill are getting less, and less, and less.
If the public unions will not negociate for a fare wage during hard times, then get rid of them.
And yes, this encludes teachers, fireman, police man, etc.
Government employees are the highest paid for the least amount of work. They retire with full benefits 10 years before anybody in the private sector can? The unions have bargained their way into a wage and benefit package that is no longer affordable.
Oh, and by the way Matt and Peter, what the hell are you doing to improve the situation? All I ever see if both of you bitching, moaning, and name calling everyone who has an opinion other than your own.
You are actually against using discretion when it comes to how our city uses tax funds? I’m not trying to be insensitive to anyone who works for the city, but I’m all for giving tax payers a better deal. If there is fat to trim, then by god we should trim it!
And since when does it fall on city officials to teach children manners? I’m sick and tired of people passing the buck to everyone except the parents who are supposed to be responsible.