Hutchinson Leader - Forum topic - Comments

There were a few robins

tms — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 14:02:34 -0600

There were a few robins around earlier but I think an irresponsible pet owner's cat ate them. Keep your pets on a leash!!!

I also wonder about that

glen sladek — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:12:55 -0600

I also wonder about that mayor steve cook,he came in typing up a storm.Sure didn't take him long to "hit the trail".Do ya think he's watching the dog of hutch run miles chasing morris?

Oh chunka nice try with the

glen sladek — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 03:58:27 -0600

Oh chunka nice try with the real names:)

That location seems to be a

arcy — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:19:33 -0600

That location seems to be a bad one. I don't understand it either. With some TLC and a vision it should be the hottest place in town. One suggestion to who ever comes next, put some money into all the differed maintenance that is screaming to be done. The dripping ceiling, open light sockets, etc. does not make for a pleasant dinning experience.

Wow, I didn't know it closed

chevy freak101 — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 17:52:08 -0600

Wow, I didn't know it closed already. I only ate there once, I wasnt impressed, but it wanst a bad experience either.

Arcy, I think you may be

Terry Davis — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:02:08 -0600

Arcy, I think you may be right now that I read it again. I think I was thrown by the "Lost cat" title. Probably should have been something like "Cat found" or "Stray cat found".

Of course they then wouldn't give out the location as that might help determine who the real owner is if there are multiple claims put in.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

I think they are looking for

arcy — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:49:57 -0600

I think they are looking for the owner, not the cat. The question is where did they find the stray?

Sure hope you find your

Terry Davis — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 08:00:00 -0600

Sure hope you find your kitty. Our Squeaky was a stray who came into our lives a year ago, just 10 days after our nearly 19-year-old Tigger journeyed to the endless fields of catnip in cat heaven just before Christmas 2008.

What part of Hutch is he/she missing from and what is his/her's name?

I'll keep my eyes open for him/her.

Have you called the Animal Shelter next to the fairgrounds? Also, you might want to call the police to see if their animal control person picked up a cat. They take them to Crow River Vet for holding.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

Thanks for asking. The city

Doug Hanneman — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 10:29:54 -0600

Thanks for asking. The city of Hutchinson is again chipping Christmas trees at 10 parks. We've posted a story above to explain how it works.

(Doug Hanneman is editor of the Hutchinson Leader. He may be reached at hanneman@hutchinsonleadr.com)

Darwin. very nice...

RoOsTeR — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:10:41 -0600

Darwin.
very nice...

The imperative to live "in

darwinball — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 08:17:59 -0600

The imperative to live "in the moment" seems to be better understood the closer I get to the end of my days. As one who assumes that the days on Earth are the all I have, each moment is all the more precious and meaningful.

Some of the practical ways I make the most of my time on Earth:
- When I hurt or wrong somebody, I try to address the issue as
soon as possible so it won't be "hanging over my head" and I
can move on with my life.

- I remind myself that everyone is a product of her or his
education, religious beliefs, evolutionary biology, culture,
experiences,and relationships...we all are exactly the same and
completely different at the same time.

- I realize that many problems and issues in this world are
not solvable during my lifetime. I can learn about them, give
my opinions, work for change...but not demand concrete
results. Knowing that I tried has to be sufficient.

- Get outside every day. Evolution is a slow process, and we
are not well-suited for spending our lives in enclosed,
climate-controlled boxes. Feeling the frigid wind on my
cheeks or the warm sun on my chest improves my outlook.

- Be curious and interested in everything. Learning about
things other people enjoy helps me find things I enjoy.
Understanding how things work helps me be more useful and
productive. Learning facts about issues is much more
satisfying than embracing emotion-driven opinions.

I thought that was strange

fiscallyconservative — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:54:22 -0600

I thought that was strange too but that is what is shown on the budget report. It does include:

Fire chief (1.00)
Inspector (1.00)
PT Custodian (0.23)
PT Asst Chief (1.00)
PT Asst Battalion Chiefs (2.00)
PT Lieutenant (4.00)
PT Safety officer (1.00)
Volunteer firefighters (35.00)

I'm not sure why the FTE's are listed as they are since most of these folks are either volunteer or PT. Maybe it is an error? Or is it just a different way to keep track of their head count?

P.S. I do my best creative thinking at 2:29am. :)

Fis Con: We should point out

Terry Davis — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:27:46 -0600

Fis Con: We should point out that at the top of your list you have the fire department with 45.23 FTEs. My guess is that is an error. Chief Brad Emans and inspector Jim Popp are the only full-time employees of the department. The rest of the firefighers, and there are only about 30 now, not 40-plus, are paid only when called out. So there might be 30 bodies, but not more than a few FTEs.

By the way, I see your latest post was at 2:29 a.m.

(Terry Davis is a Hutchinson Leader staff writer. E-mail him at davis@hutchinsonleader.com.)

The cost of our city

fiscallyconservative — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 02:29:13 -0600

The cost of our city government...

CURRENT CITY GOVERNMENT PRIORITY LIST

Note that I have added values for some of government operations shown below. Numbers in parenthesis represent a loss (or cost) for each department. Numbers without parenthesis represents a net positive gain or impact for that particular department. These numbers are taken from the 2009 approved budget. Also note that I have listed the number of full time employees (FTE) associated with each area.

Primary government services:

01. Public Safety (police): ($2,915,581); FTE = 37.00
02. Public Safety (fire): ($315,177); FTE = 45.23
03. Streets and Alleys: ($1,169,679); FTE = 8.35
03. Water: ($1,487,506); FTE = 6.05
04. Sewer: ($820,964); FTE = 9.62
05. Electricity: ??
06. Storm Water Utility: ($75,317); FTE = 2.60
06. Snowplowing: Included in Streets and Alleys?
07. Emergency Management: ($18,000); FTE = 0.00

TOTAL: ($6,802,224); FTE = 109.00

These are services that benefit almost all citizens. They can probably be provided better by the city due to the economy of scale. These are normal government functions for smaller cities. While some of these services could be provided by the private sector, the population base may not be large enough to attract quality options.

Secondary government services that benefit most citizens:

01. Planning: ($152,215); FTE = 1.70
02. Motor Vehicle Registration/Licensing: $11,500; FTE = 3.68
03. Building permits: Included in planning?
04. Assessing: ($57,940); FTE = 0.00
06. Mayor and City Council: ($56,310); FTE = 5.00
07. Elections: ($10,128); FTE = 0.00
08. Finance Administration: ($591,006); FTE = 5.37
09. Legal: ($106,194); FTE = 1.00
10. Information Services: ($217,845); FTE = 3.25
11. Safety Committee: ($13,450); FTE = 0.00
12. Protective Services: $0; FTE = 3.30
13. Engineering: $7,938; FTE = 4.65
14. General Administration: ($381,883); FTE = 3.50
15. City Hall: ($146,177); FTE = 1.00
16. Other (unallocated): ($725,835); FTE = 0.00

TOTAL: ($2,429,417); FTE = 29.00

The above items are not necessarily in the order of their value or importance.

Government services that make our community a better place to live:

01. Parks: ($742,975); FTE = 8.00
02. Recreation: ($26,007); FTE = 1.00
03. Recreation Building & Pool: ($80,254); FTE = 0.75
04. Civic Arena: ($112,027); FTE = 1.25
05. Senior Dining Center: ($2,950); FTE = 0.00
06. Library: ($189,792); FTE = 0.50
07. Community Development (EDA): ???
08. Senior Citizen Center: ($12,816); FTE = 0.55
09. Parks & Recreation Administration: ($161,451); FTE = 2.20

TOTAL: ($1,328,272); FTE = 14

These services are most likely NOT used be most citizens. The are often considered items that make our city a better place to live. While the majority of citizens do not use these services, many will agree that these are necessary to attract new citizens or improve the quality of life in our community. These services are typically do not show a positive income. The scope of these services could be an area that varies based on the state of the economy.

Government services that could possibly be done by the private (non-governmental) sector:

01. Garbage Collection (no recycling): ???
02. Garbage Collection (with recycling): $25,528; FTE = 2.42
03. Liquor Store: $329,956; FTE = 8.77
04. Leaf collection: ???
05. Cemetery: ($53,734); FTE = 1.25
06. Event Center: ($128,036); FTE = 2.96

These services are currently being provided by the city. Most of these could be provided by the private sector if allowed. Most are justifiable by taxpayers as they minimize the current tax burden.

Government services that are being provided primarily to offset our current tax burden:

01. Liquor Store: $329,956; FTE = 8.77
02. Creekside Recycling: $43,493; FTE = 8.75

These are examples of city services that are being provided as a "for profit" operation. They are being operated similarly to private sector businesses by the government so local tax burden can be minimized. Many will argue that government shouldn't be involved in operations that compete with the private sector--regardless of the impact on the tax burden.

Government services that could be candidates for consolidation:

01. Schools: (possible city/school partnership)
02. Airport: ($28,605); FTE = 0.20

How about a regional airport that is funded by Litchfield, Hutchinson, and Glencoe? Rekindle this discussion?

If we wanted the government to do more...

01. Homestead Maintenance: (lawn mowing, driveway plowing, window washing, etc. Added as a possible future service.)

Tongue-in-cheek

Whoa Terry, the cart just

fiscallyconservative — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 17:38:47 -0600

Whoa Terry, the cart just ran over your horse and it is rolling down the road out-of-control. :)

We need to put this forum topic into context and then slow down a bit. I decided to tackle this virtual exercise after seeing many posts along the line of "we need to stop spending so much money" or, "our local government is out-of-control", etc.

I quickly determined that most of us do not know how much is being spent on what and, more importantly--why? Unless you sit in every taxation meeting or you are part of the budgeting process, there is no way to know why each budgeting decision was made. I don't think even you, the master of all knowledge, have all those details. :)

So, I thought that if we could summarize our current spending levels and then prioritize our wants and needs, we could begin to discuss some of the details. As we have seen, some people (thank you Mr. Mayor) are willing to give us these details. Additionally, we have some very smart forum participants so we might be able to spark some very intelligent discussions. This assumes, of course that we can get past the "pen name" and "you are wasting your time" distractions.

At this time, I personally don't have any major problems with the city's spending. However, as time goes on we may find some things that could be done better. My gut feel is that we have some very intelligent folks at our helm and that there is probably very good justification for most of our spending. Or at the very least, I'm hoping that there are logical foundations for the decisions that are being made.

"minions"? Funny. I think you need to get a bigger dictionary so you can choose a better word. :) We, the organized members (minions) of the Hutch Leader forum have nothing to fight for yet. So, why would we choose to attend these meetings at this time? To waste time?

We all need to slow down a bit and take this forum for what it is. It is a virtual water cooler where we can all talk about things without setting up meetings, appointments, etc. Yes, IF there is a problem with something, it can be very good tool if people choose to participate.

For those that know the root cause failure analysis process, you understand the importance of properly defining the problem BEFORE possible solutions are discussed. If you don't do this, your cart rolls out of control...

Hence my reference to your dead horse and your cart that is about ready to crash into the new mural wall. :)