A few years back the city purchased $1,000 chairs for
Councilmembers, the city administrator and the city attorney.
Ironically, some City Councilmembers didn’t even like the
chairs.
A few years back the city purchased $1,000 chairs for Councilmembers, the city administrator and the city attorney. Ironically, some City Councilmembers didn’t even like the chairs.
For spending way too much on the chairs behind the dais, Councilmembers were treated to a pain in the you-know-what by residents who didn’t appreciate the luxurious spending for city “behinds.”
The recent proposal to pay for laptops for City Councilman is, however, a different matter, though it has brought some criticism in the same vein.
Laptops are tools for efficiency and communication – both of which are expected from our local elected representatives – and it seems that $1,700 or so per Councilmember is a legitimate expenditure, and hardly indicative of a spendthrift governmental body.
Besides, in the grand scheme of things it’s truly a drop in the bucket. Though we do understand that each drop in the bucket adds up, it would be far more productive if this Council would pay more attention to budgetary items like firefighter overtime, cost overruns on the Santa Teresa beautification project, cost overruns on the new police station (which cost way too much from the beginning) and such large ticket items that seem to plague Gilroy.
It’s a pattern of not on time and not on budget that is troublesome.
Of course, with all the sales tax money flowing in, it means that watching the dollars on behalf of residents becomes less of a priority.
Gilroy’s got it – the money.
Let’s see, … the cost of seven laptops for seven public servants at, say, $1,800 each would be $12,600.
The projected cost for firefighter overtime this fiscal year is $882,180.
Comparing the two, the laptops would be about
1.4 percent of the annual cost for firefighter overtime.
While we don’t believe spending $12,600 on laptops will help curb huge expenses like firefighter overtime, hopefully the machines can facilitate communication about such issues. And, as Councilman Craig Gartman points out, documents received electronically are not killing trees. Well, hopefully the city is using recycled paper. But that’s another matter altogether isn’t it?
So, go ahead Council, buy the laptops. But remember it’s just a tool, dependent as it is on the skill and the will of the craftsman.
