Not even a very long nap has had any effect on the fatigue I am experiencing. No blog thoughts are coming to mind, except some vague opinions on what some readers insist is the impending outsourcing of the Planning Division.
On the face of it, outsourcing this division would do away with the institutional knowledge of the city's physical character and structure. The example of outsourcing engineering can stand as proof of what you get when you depend on the abilities of strangers to deal with crucial functions. Over the years, the individuals assigned to the city have ranged from extremely competent and in tune with the city's needs to practically oblivious and incapable of timely response.
In the newsroom a few years ago, there was talk of "journalism by parachute," or the practice of putting a skilled journalist in some unfamiliar place, with the result often being a superficial report that in many cases lacked the social or historical context needed to convey the news intelligibly to readers. Similarly, we have seen instances of outside professionals not "getting" Plainfield and making recommendations based on generic concepts.
Someone raised the issue of how much employees cost, versus outsourcing. A while back I wrote a post on how employers may increasingly be viewing employees as a burden and a nuisance, with their need for things like vacations and benefits. Outsourcing may give the impression of doing away with those costs, but guess what? Each assignee to the city is an employee of the outsourcing firm and so the costs of time off and perks are built in to the hourly rate billed to the city.
This whole situation needs a lot more light shed on it, which may not happen due to personnel rules and the autonomy of any administration in such decision-making. It's hard to report on a personnel issue that is rumored to be happening, until it actually happens. And even then the facts may remain hidden behind regulations on confidentiality.
Meanwhile, eight months of displacement within my own small apartment have left me really tired. It has only been a week since I got back all the space I lost starting on Dec. 9, 2014. Sometimes I am sad and sometimes very angry. It is interfering with my ability to do a lot of things, blogging being one. And now I think I will go back to bed.
--Bernice
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The Mayor should outsource his Chief of Staff's job. We do not need a person who demanded new office furniture and a $100,000 plus benefit job.
ReplyDeleteOutsourcing a core information function such as Planning is detrimental to the City as a whole because institutionalized memory is erased. Plainfield is an old City, and the land in many places has had many uses. Old incinerator area is now private homes. Old sewer pits are now a medical facility, dump, utility, and pound. Old high school was built on a cemetery (as NY Times reported). Old power plant is now a day care center. An old automobile headquarters is now a day care center. Poor farm is now private homes. A corporate chemical headquarters is now a school. Trolley tracks run under many roads even up to Hillside Cemetery. New High School was built over a culvert.
ReplyDeleteAs with everything the contract with the "outsourced" take-over company must be concise otherwise change orders will take away all the supposed cost benefits.
Amen! The Planning Division makes the Land-Use Boards run, and run smoothly with a deep knowledge of the city. If this late summer massacre is on par with the Manager Motors business, its simplistic rationale will go no deeper than the base contract of hired gun firm is less than the combined salary of city employees a,b,c,and d. In other words, so superficial even a third-grader could do it. I don't see this at all as a personnel issue and everything should be put out on the table so the public can see just whose hairbrained idea this was. Then, that person or persons should become the subject of a real personnel issue for leading the city down this reckless path and perhaps engaging in a serious conflict-of-interest.
DeletePlanning is one division this city absolutely cannot do without! The staff is knowledgeable, dependable, and committed, and knows the city and its history well. If the administration wants to outsource something, perhaps the suggested "motors manager" would be appropriate--and there are surely other functions that could be outsourced. BUT NOT PLANNING!!
ReplyDeleteThe Planning Division is one of the most competent in the City government. They seldom. if ever, come up for air. I can not imagine the cost if the operation is outsourced, or the delays. What has cried out since its inception to be outsourced is the PMUA, not Planning.
ReplyDeleteBill Kruse