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CM, Where are you getting your numbers? Not trying to disagree but when we drive thru Lafayette and see a Walmart and a TSC, we don't believe numbers are always the deciding factors.
Gonna be a while before what you are looking for comes to Portland. Population, income and individual traffic counts mean more than just the ability to sell alcohol. When you look at how many people have to eat at a dining establishment everyday and at every meal time, Portland just doesn't have the numbers to support it yet.
Well, I hope members of the council that wanted to eliminate the human resources department for the city are happy. They got what they wanted. But I have some questions.
What's going to happen the first time an employee has a workers comp case? What's going to happen the first time a city worker has an insurance problem? What's goingto happen the first time a city employee sues the city because the "new" hr people didn't handle his case correctly.
And I wonder what's going to happen next year when they can't balance the budget again? Whose department will be eliminated then? Maybe they will get rid of public works? The city engineer? The codes office?
I saw that, and there are already two Sol Azteca restaurants in Franklin now...
I just noticed what the new restaurant is going to be in the place where the American Bisto was.......it's going to be Sol Azteca....just what this area needs. ( another Mexican food restaurant )....SIGH........oh well...........
( was hoping for Denny's or something with a variety of foods )
And you're right about the Alcohol Board......another SIGH...and "oh well".....
I'm sure something will come to town in time, it won't happen overnight and there certainly isn't very many places to put one in this town, new development is the only thing we have to hope for.
As for the council taking over as the alcohol board, I too feel this was a realllly big mistake. It has taken them what 4 months to get it far enough to give out applications, I can only imagine the squabbling that will take place in order to get one with their stamp of approval on it. Lots of luck to who ever that may be!
That's horrible and they can't even keep the picture quality when it rains...
*groan* Thanks, Charlie. Must be nice to get a "relatively small" discretionary bonus equal to probably 15 or 20 years of pay for the average person who pays a Comcast bill, not to mention the other "very substantial" bonus.
mg62: You will probably not be pleased to know that your (any my!) cable bill increase is going to pay the $40.8 million salary of the Comcast CEO.
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Comcast CEO Brian Roberts received total compensation of $40.8 million last year, Corporate Library said. That includes a $2.7 million base salary and over $22 million in earnings related to stock options. Roberts received a relatively small "discretionary bonus" of $881,027 and a "very substantial" bonus of $7.4 million under a non-equity incentive plan, Hodgson said.
Comcast said in a statement that its 2008 performance was "strong despite what was one of the most challenging economic and competitive environments in decades." The company said its executive compensation practices are "closely aligned with shareholders' interests" and a "major factor in our success."
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http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107831/5-most-overpaid-ceos.html?mod=career-leadership
Anybody else open their cable bill today? Nice to see that in a down economy, Comcast has no qualms about jacking up the prices--AGAIN. My bill for my "digital starter service" and high-speed Internet (in the form of increasing the fee for the modem rental)will be going up $4 per month and I will again get no additional service or channels for my additional money. Although I could get a satellite TV service to replace my cable (and I could get the 2 additional channels I really want which are considered "digital preferred" on our present service), I have to have high-speed Internet to do my job. They have us right where they want us. With no real competition for the high-speed Internet, all we can do is whine and fork over whatever they charge.
Not if the by-pass has limited access, then you could have development along the by-pass by having a limited number of entrances and exits on the by-pass leading to access roads fronting the development.
Tucker,
While I can see the obvious sarcasm in your post. You surely didn't think one day the voters would pass LBTD and the very next day we would have all types of places to go eat with liquior offered?
These things do take time to set up and get going. Nobody ever said there would be an overnight change. Although that is what the scare mongers who were against it said would happen.
I think there's alot more to the LBTD thing than alot of people thought.But I do wish we could get some restaurant that served a nice drink. It doesn't have to be a chain or franchise. I'm more concerned with the upcoming "discussion" of the 2 package store applications this coming Monday. Eliminating the Alcohol Board was a big mistake in my opinion. When you put those types of decisions in the hands of the council it opens it up to the good ole boy network. Plus, there are going to be some council persons that vote against it based on "personal beliefs", but if the applicants meet the criteria I dont see how they can legally do that. I'm guessing a lawsuit is just around the corner on this.
A bypass would be great for while, but eventually both sides of the road would be developed/littered with burger joints, gas stations, hair salons, and thrift stores just like 109 is now, thus rendering it useless as an actual bypass. LOL
Well, it has been how long since the city of Portland voted in liquor by the drink and the city still has no eating establishments that serve liquor by the drink?
I thought passing the LBTD was going to bring in a lot of revenue and help the city financially? Isn't that what all the pro LBTD people were saying?
How long is it going to take???
One of the worst fears for any small town was a bypass taking people away from the downtown area, where local commerce went on. Our downtown area lost some of the downtown commerce, and we still did not get the bypass. Another issue was where to place the bypass to keep everyone happy. In all fairness to former city leaders, nobody expected Portland to have the industrial growth of the 90's, coupled with ten years of housing growth. Good problems? Sure, if you have the infrastructure in place to take care of it. Our city was a little behind the eight ball in some circumstances, but it will happen, just not overnight.
We must be thankful for we do have.
I've always wondered why Portland doesen't or can't have a bypass.
Portland's roads are just too congested and we have become a truck route with more trucks than cars on our roads !
You're right, the lanes are so narrow in some places, it's just plain dangerous !
I have traveled all across the United States and have seen many little towns with posted signs that say, No Trucks over ...a certain number of pounds, etc......why can't Portland have some restrictions on their downtown roads ?
Is this a Dept. of Transportation issue or a local issue ?
some trucks do evade the scales. even in a down economy there are still alot of deliveries into and shipments exiting the industrial parks in the area. when we see more of these "local" trucks moving around our city we will know the economy is picking back up.
a bypass would eliminate alot of congestion in the "downtown" area where the 4 lane is actually 3 1/2 lanes.
I think they use 109 as short cut from 65 to get to 40 especially if they are going south. Im not totally convinced its just to *avoid* the scales.
The reason that you see so many semi trucks and what not on 109 is because they are bypassing the scales this way. If you managed to get a weigh station somewhere along 109 you would see truck traffic reduced quite significantly because it would be pointless to bypass 65 just to avoid the weigh in.
I try not to pay much attention to national politics, but the news today stated the finance committee on capitol hill had been discussing, as usual, healthcare.
The republicans on the committee, which are outnumbered, asked the democrats to put the healthcare plan on the internet so the public can read it and see exactly what president wants the public to do.
Unbelievably, the democrats said NO. Why would the democrats not want the public to get a first hand look at their healthcare plan?
and don't forget...the Portland City Council will be voting on Monday, Oct. 5, whether to push the city's HR Director out of her job. The mayor voted to veto the council's decision, but the council will vote on Oct. 5 whether to override the mayor's veto.
A lot happening with the council!
I'm very glad for the police who are at the Gateview Elementary entrance in the mornings and afternoons. I don't understand why there isn't a "school zone" sign or anything there......it's good the police are there, because people apparently don't realize there is a school there, yet !
I think there is a high amount of truck traffic on 109...going north or south. I tend to travel 52 just to get away from it, but Im noticing more traffic on that road as well. I think folks are impatient and cant wait 5 minutes. Ive had folks blast past me on 109 just so I can be right behind them at the stop sign at 31. More patrolling might help. They dont have to set up all day long, but an occasional pass thru would at least make drivers know that they are there.
If I were to guess the reason for the higher traffic, I'd be that more people are going to Franklin to shop at Walmart for cheaper groceries, lower taxes on food, Lowes, restuarants etc..
I was just watching some of the council meeting a few minutes ago. I presume the council members who are readers of the blog will be looking for opinions, so here's my 2 cents about the speed limit issue on 109 North.
I think it will do little to no good to change the speed limit. As pointed out in the meeting, a large percentage of the accidents occurring between Kirby Drive and Hwy 31 have 2 causes: primarily high speed, with inability to stop when someone in front of them is waiting to turn, and passing. What good would having a different speed for trucks be on a 2-lane road? That means a truck doing the truck speed limit will have a line of cars behind trying to pass so they can do the higher car speed limit. That seems like adding to the problem, not reducing it. And then, if, as one member suggested, we put in double yellows to make it no passing, then set a different speed for trucks than cars, it would be entirely pointless.
BUT, the concept of lowering the speed limit assumes that people who are driving too fast will slow down and drive the speed limit. Why should that be the case at 45 if it is not the case at 55? This is a pretty flat, open road. You can see a long way down the road. If you are going too fast to see something stopped ahead, you are going too fast period. What we need is a significant enforcement effort of the existing laws--ticket the speeders, the reckless drivers, the texters. Of what benefit will a lower speed limit be if it is not enforced any better than the present one? (I know there are staff constraints from the police standpoint.)
The other question I asked myself was why does this stretch have so many more accidents. Yes, there are some newer subdivisions there, but there would appear to be no more driveways or access roads than on 109S, or 52 E/W, so perhaps we need to understand that before we can apply a fix to the situation. Is the traffic volume significantly higher on that stretch of road than the others? What percentage of the accidents were caused by big trucks compared to noncommercial vehicles? (Although someone noted having personal experiences with a big truck, every single negative experience I've had there have been with texting drivers, speeding bullet bikes, and cars and pickups passing multiple cars.) Maybe those questions have been answered in a previous meeting and I missed it.
So that is my 2 cents' worth.
Thanks Brian, it's been the typical slow summer but things are picking up. Haven't seen you around in quite awhile, hope all is well. All and all we have a great group here, the blog's longevity is directly related to the posters, without them we would all be out playing in the rain these days... lol
Nearly 100 comments this month. I'm glad to see the blog is doing well. Judy, you are going a great job. Keep it up.
OOOOH, ok......I see now. I'd be mad too, if that happened to me !
A long time ago, I had someone come by my house when my peonies were in bloom, and I was gone away for the weekend...and someone cut them all off !! ( It was Memorial Day weekend ) ...I'm assuming they wanted to take a pretty bouquet to the cemetery or something...wild, huh ? They were all cut off at the exact same level....LOL LOL.
no this was scrap up by my house that I was going to take to the recycling center and he came up into my yard to steal it.
Everyone remember Chris Ladd & Pray for him. He is still in Vanderbilt Hospital & is in Critical Condition. The doctors don't really know what is wrong with him yet! Prayer helps.
I know he hasn't said anything about wanting to come back, but I sure would like to see Mike Callis come back to the city council.
There are four spots on the council up for grabs in the next election and I would like to see him run.
Sorry Mike. But I really would like to see you back on the council. I don't understand some of the things this council is doing???
Debra...that's exactly it ! That's what I do....it works out great ! :)
I have found if I want to get rid of something I just sit it out by the road. 9 times out of 10 it will be gone by the end of the day.
If I have something too good to sit by the road I will offer it on Freecycle.
I've noticed on my street, that people pick up items that are set out on the curb to re-sell in their yard sales and businesses they have going on. It's pure profit for them when they can find good items for nothing ! I'm happy to get rid of things and not have to haul things off -- I'm glad there are people out there that will take these things so quickly ! It helps me and I help them....nothing like everyone working together ! LOL
Hey, if someone is so bad off they want my trash, I say "Let 'em have it!" I put it by the curb for a reason...I DON'T WANT IT! Jeez, it just saves city tax dollars by not having to pay the fees at the dump.
Hey you meddling kids stay off my lawn! You're interrupting my Ensure and Dr.Phil time!
The dog sounds like a good idea. I also have no trespassing and private property signs posted. I don't mind it if a car is coming and people come into the edge of my lawn. I just don't appreciate those who run in it, snoop around, or those who try to steal from me. If those trespassers think that they own my yard and can have access to it, then they need to start helping me pay my property taxes. :)
no reason and there is not a sidewalk by my house. I had a fence it was hit once by a drunk in a car, then again by a drunk on a 4-wheeler. SO I gave up on the fence and took it down. Really I believe there is no way to keep trespassers out.
We used to have that problem...then we got a pit bull. She was very gentle, but people were intimidated by her. We don't have her anymore, but we have posted "No trespassing" signs.
I don't mind a kid walking through my yard if they're walking down the road and a car is coming. Now if they start tearing up stuff...then we will have a problem.
Our drive used to be one of the stops for the bus until I had 5 & 8-year-old kids from the subdivision behind me pushing each other in the road and throwing rocks at each other (the rocks ended up hitting my car). I went out there and yelled at them and called the school...needless to say, they no longer have the bus stop at my driveway.
Is there a particular reason kids are running in your yard? Does your property have a proper sidewalk for the kids to use rather then walk/run in the street?
You could always fence in your yard so that the kids aren't able to trespass and set your garbage out in the morning on your trash pick up day so that the guy who likes to trespass to pick up your trash doesn't have access to it.
I am tired of people running or being in your yard without permission. Am I the only one experiencing this problem? I caught a guy in my yard about 2 months ago, just to steal trash. I would have let him have it he would have came to the door and asked. Then I saw the same man with his truck parked at the end of my street and he was walking in a another yard. I am also tired of all these teenagers and kids running through my yard. What would their parents think if I came into their yard? I don't think they would like that too much. Kids in Portland need something to do other than trespass. Could I suggest a bowling alley or skating ring for this town? Maybe that would keep them out of my yard and out of trouble.
Glenn Beck...Who cares what he thinks?
He has no influence on what happens in the White House.
Glenn Beck is fun. Two types of people watch his show. The first group are people who love "infotainment". They watch mainly to laugh at Mr.Beck. He pretty much says what people who are not think are thinking. In fact he has exploited the tragedies of 9-11 to enrich himself.
The second group are paranoid extreme right wing neoconservatives with an insatiable taste for fear mongering and doomsday prophecy. Like November '06, Rep. Keith Ellison (Dem.Mn), the first Muslim congressman, appeared on Glenn Beck. Beck said to him, “I have been nervous about this interview with you because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.’”
Glenn is NOT a libertarian as he claims, he is a standard Neocon. He was a cheerleader of the Iraq war from day 1. Beck organized a pro-Iraq War “Rally for America” events in 18 cities for his right wing nut bosses at Clear Channel. Iraq may be one of our single biggest blunders in history.
Also Libertarians are definitely not for bail outs of fat cat bankers. Beck said “The $700 billion dollars that you’re hearing about now is not only I believe necessary, it is also not nearly enough.” However, as soon as Bush left office and Obama picked up the baton and continued the same financial policy, he changed his tune and routinely attacked the bailout as an example of how socialism was taking over America.
Beck has played all of his scare tactic games before. In 2007 he smeared libertarians and the anti-war left as terrorist sympathizers and inferred that the U.S. military should be used to silence them..Oooh scary.
All you Beckhead's should learn a little something about who you are getting your information from. Its okay to be conservative but do NOT be a gullible conservative. Stop waiting for people to tell you what to think. Things are not that simple. If you just love to be frightened then you should know that the right wing and the left want to scalp you. Beck is just the latest of the right wing "community organizers". :)
Opps--this is my Real Name! I just want to say you may just want to look at Pastor Mike's comments as something good. There is just way too much "bad" in this world. I try (I say "try") to live each day & look at the "Good" things in this world. Look at the rain today -- glorious! Look at the sunshine when it's shining -- a blessing. We are all human & make daily mistakes but we can learn from them. I like to spread a "good word" with people if I can. This not only helps them to have a better day but it makes my day better also. Negative thoughts send out negative attitude. Life is hard enough with out a lot of negativity. My husband left me a note this morning saying "Luv u sew much! Ha-Ha" That mis-spelling made my day today. You never know what "postive" effect you can have on someone each & every day! Everyone just Laugh & enjoy your Blessings!! Keep up the good work Pastor Mike -- I really enjoy your comments!!!
Oh and your name is Tucker? or just Tucker? And you are so innocent on this blog. get real
Ace,
The truth hurts, huh? Sounds like pastor mike was giving all of us some words of wisdom. It is too easy for us to get caught up telling gossip about other people and making fun. And isn't it funny that some of the folks on the blog won't use their own names???
Mike, keep up the good work. I have learned a lot and, remember Ace, what Mike is saying is Biblical.
Well, Portland's own self-righteous P.M. (no names) has come to **** on everyone's parade. "Have you ever made a mistake?" Maybe those of us making fun of it have no life, but for Pete's sake, get off your high horse. For those of us who like to have a chuckle at others misfortunes, click on my name.
Schadenfreude!!!!
Ya'll are too much, is this english101 class today? I can be the worst offender there. Good to see so many having a little good humor fun, I just went by McDonald's <- (think that's right). The sign now reads Try "our" new Angus Burger.
Carry on!
While we're at it, it's "misuse", not "miss use". lol
Damn! Busted....
Oops! I just realized I put "the" instead of "they". Typo - please excuse me.
While LOL and pointing out another who miss used a word, you write;
"But while trying demonstrate the miss use of the word "are" you inadvertently ....."
Did you forget something here?
"But while trying *to* demonstrate the miss use of the word "are" ....."
I certainly hope our students know the difference between "our" and "are" before the get to Portland High School!
state's
That's why "are" younger society in this town is the way they are. No wonder there on the states "watch list".
I agree with a lot of what you said. But while trying demonstrate the miss use of the word "are" you inadvertently miss used the word "there". I think what you meant to say was "No wonder they're on the states "watch list"."
LOL
Wow, what a tirade, sure it true, but wow!
Thats because the schools are too busy worrying what the kids are wearing in school instead of concentrating on educating them. PHS, A frayed pocket, a designer patch logo(purchased that way), "call home for another change of clothes". cotton stretch pants that look too much like lycra,"don't wear them again or your sent home" shorts at one half inch above the knee - "call home for another change of clothes, only cheerleaders and football players are permitted to wear shorts above the knee" basketball type nylon shorts at the knee "call home for another change of clothes, only football or basketball players are permitted to wear them to school". The only ones that get the liberty of wearing pretty much what ever they want are the teachers who wear spaghetti strap tops and low cut blouses (against dress code for students), cheerleaders, and those that play sports. Lets not forget if you get detention for being 2 min late for class after a pep rally (cheerleaders and football players are 30 min late they get nothing) should a fb player be in detention too and they bring a note from coach they get excused from detention early because they have a lot of practice to do, they serve 10min of a 50 min detention!!!!! This school is a joke! My child is a B,C student and new to this school they offer nothing other than a hard way to go if you're not one of the "chosen few". That's why "are" younger society in this town is the way they are. No wonder there on the states "watch list".
It's been like that since Wednesday. (that's when I first saw it).
Maybe they are looking for someone to put up their signs....LOL LOL
I went to town just now to get gas and saw this on the McDonald's sign
"Try are new angus burgers. We are hiring"
I can't believe this is the best this town can do as far as education. Hopefully somebody will change it soon.
I supported Obama during his election (even though I did not agree with all of his views). I still think he is trying, which is all you can do as president. He's ruffling a lot of feathers, but what president doesn't. I am fortunate to work for a place with good pay, insurance, and benefits. I know that can be taken away and will deal with that if it ever happens. Another thing I know is that over the years, people have asked government to do something about healthcare, so everyone can have insurance that they can afford. I believe Obama is trying to get this done, his views are just not what people expected to happen. I hope every day that affordable healthcare will happen for all TRUE U.S. CITIZENS. The government can't make everyone happy, but maybe they can truly help some. I live in hope!
I am still wondering how "our little city " can afford to pay anyone such a high salary as they are paying the HR director in the first place at the same time complaining about the budget. Something is just not right with that. The more it's explained the worse it sounds to me.
Yeah the Obama people have been quiet lately. Maybe it's because they have been busy watching Glenn Beck.
Ask Johnny!!
Too funny,
I don't follow?
If other much, much larger municipalities near by can eliminate their HR dept, I see no reason why our little city shouldn't be able to survive just fine without one. I bet if little Johnny came home and told you his best friend got a new ipod, knowing that you couldn't afford, you might be inclined to tell him... Johnny that's nice, but we have to worry about putting food on the table first! then we'll worry about a new ipod.
OMG, I almost choked on my drink with your last sentence!!! So True, So True!!
I really do try to stay out of politics because it is a losing battle, no matter what side you're on.
I am not an Obama fan (mainly because he is pro abortion and pro late-term abortion). I have, however, found it interesting that the pro Obama people have been so quiet lately.
I noticed the president's poll numbers are going down and "Czars" he's brought on to work, don't know when to shut up.
What I have found, and some of you will not believe this I am sure, but Obama is actually human. He can't walk on water.
I guess i wonder why the councilmen and councilwomen who are voting to eliminate the HR Department keep bringing up that other cities have done it.
So what???
Would they allow that excuse to be used by their children?
The County eliminated their HR Dept, and the City of Lebanon.
Remembering 9/11. Praying for the survivors, praying for the families of those lost, praying for our country. This country seems to have forgotten much of what we learned in that time after 9/11 about what is really important in our lives, but I WILL NOT forget and I urge you not to forget. Turn off the TV, the IPOD and the video games and do something with your family or something for someone in need, call someone you love today, thank God for your very existence. Don't ever forget.
Other cities abolishing HR departments? Where are they located? What steps did they take in assigning the functions? Can Portland's Council members take this to the ring in Round 2?
Money lost on land sale? How does the City of Portland get into these deals and lose? I still have issues with old bank building on Main, either fix it or sell it. The money spent on "rented house" across from City Hall could have gone a long way on renovations for the building on Main Street.
Consulting fees? We have all read alot about these the last few years. No disrespect to the consulting profession, but are they not many times used to cover a lack of knowledge on the part of a decision maker, or a decision team. Consultants can present many concepts on how to spend taxpayer dollars, collect their fees, and they have exited the building.
One day off a month for city employees? Do the math, 120 workers equals many votes come election day, nobody wants to go there, just like nobody wanted to visit the overtime issues for decades. It was visited, hopefully sound decisions were made, life goes on. On this topic. Why did the HR department head not bring this to the Council's attention the first sixty days on the job? If it shows in the record she did, good job, if she did not, why are they still an employee of the City of Portland? It was there in black and white for the department to crunch the numbers, present the data to the Council, act on it, move on. Remember, it is not personal, just business.
In closing, thanks to all the Council members and the Mayor for serving the City of Portland. Leave your personal agendas outside the building, make sound, rational decisions for the citizens of Portland, TN and remember, you are setting the platform for future generations.
Thanks, Jazz....
Ok, that being the case, whoever is making decisions like this one is not thinking about the city's budget woes. This is just an example of frivolous spending on someone's part.
I agree with you Watcher on how there is complaining about the Blackberry, yet someone voted or signed off on her getting it.
Jody, thank you for taking the time to explain this matter in greater details.
So my understanding is that we do have a budget but it currently isn't a balanced one, if we're in the red now with less than a month into the new budget who knows how badly this will balance out before the fiscal year is over. Predictions are for a long, cold, wet and snowy winter!! What type of actions will they be looking at in the last quarter when they run out of money? Are they just going to worry about that when the time comes? or rob from Peter to pay Paul!
Thanks again Jody for your time.
Mr. McDowell's comment that having all city employees take one day off a month without pay to help the city's financial situation being unacceptable I feel is very revealing. There are more than 120 city employees but only one human resources manager. How plausible is it that when city employees got wind of the proposal for them to take off one day per month without pay that a few of them - either individually or collectively - decided to throw the HR manager under the bus, so to speak, for their own selfish reasons? Sounds sort of like the inmates running the asylum to me. Several of the council members who voted to eliminate the position said that there was nothing personal involved in their decision, but it is pretty plain during the discussion leading up to the vote that there is a lot more to it than just being a budgetary decision. Statements that there is "a lot of idle time" in that department and about how much the HR manager's salary is - as well as one alderman's statement that he was unaware that the HR manager made more than the mayor - and about her having a city-issued Blackberry "when she isn't even on call" clearly show that their decision is based, at least in part, on a personal agenda, whether it be their own or that of certain city employees who are, plain and simply and selfishly, looking out only for themselves. Do not those nit-picky complaints sounds like the kind you would hear among co-workers in the workplace? Does it sound like there are some city employees who could be jealous? Yet, you just wait. If the HR department is eliminated and one of these city employees has a problem with their health insurance benefits, they'll be the first to hop up and down, screaming mad, if the lack of a HR department causes any delay in getting their situation resolved.
"We hired a firm to study the pay range of employees in our city, HR was given the job of assisting the firm, and came out of the study with one of the biggest raises of all! Don’t get me wrong! I KNOW that SOMEONE needs to be responsible for answering questions in regards to workers comp claims, health insurance, sexual harassment, etc, but I’m not sure this should cost the city $97,000.00 a year!"
Jody, in all of your comments about all this...this is the comment that I found most disturbing.
The city seems to be having a problem with the budget, but has no problem hiring firms to help solve it's problems. A firm to help decide pay, a firm to help bring business here...maybe we should stop paying all these "firm " people and just use some common sense...and stop handing out money to people who just seem to create more problems than they solve.
The city can't get a balanced budget, think they have to eliminate a dept., yet has money to buy up property for future expansion ?
( the property on High Street ) .......
I just don't have much faith in what the Council is doing right now. I really think the Council needs to lay the cards out on the table for all to see and publish the expenses of the city's budget, in it's entirety, so we can all see exactly where the money is being spent, before we are asked to pay more in tax increases or city services' rate hikes, if that's what it's coming down to.
I was absolutely shocked at the salary being paid this HR person. Someone sure got a sweet deal on this one...plus a Blackberry...LOL...and not even being on call. Cool. Who made these decisions ???? The more it's explained, the worse it sounds to me. Oh well, I'll keep working to try to pay for the next increases......LOL
Jody, I am curious. Almost every business in this town has had to make cutbacks. My work has made layoffs to the point we are down to one shift and around a third of our workforce. The shop worked a total of 6 days in the month of June (I think it was June) because they worked 3 days one week, off the next, 3 days one week, off the next. All these steps allow our company to stay within their budget. Why then is it such a problem for the city to follow suit. If they city cannot make budget and having the hourly employees take off one day a month without pay can solve this what is the issue? Granted, if HR is idle then it makes sense to cut this position to part time or whatever is sufficient. BUT, I am real curious why it is unacceptable to you that people take a day off. My monthly pay is almost half of what it was two years ago due to our cutbacks and I am surviving just fine. I don't think one day will hurt anyone.
Thank you for the explanation Jody.Maybe there could be an ongoing topic where ALL the council and Mayor could voice their opinions and reasons for their votes.
Jody, I think you're absolutely right. I appreciate your explanation and I agree with you.
Hello blogging friends, please let me chime in, now that I’ve seen all the posts here in regards to our Human Resource department. Let me start by saying, I am PROUD to be a councilman for this city! I have strived effortlessly to rid the political “good ole boy” crap from my way of thinking. It will always be tough to do, because we all know each other, and try to “take care” of each other. I hate that it looks like to some of you that this is political. Part of this probably is political to some extent, but not in a personal political position. I’ll explain in a second. I think that most of you have praised my efforts in the past in regards to liquor by the drink, and other controversial positions. I think you all know by now that when I stand behind something, I give it my ALL and will try to defend it till the end! OK, now that I’ve got that out of the way, here’s the deal. This is being portrayed to look like a “bad deal”. But follow the history. For several months, we have been dealing with an unbelievably tough budget. Without making all my fellow councilmen mad at me, I’ll leave some names out. (If you’ve been keeping up, I’m sure you know whom I’m referring to.) I’ll tell you, SOME have wanted to raise your taxes! A few others and I have been against this! Your property tax is used to fund the “General Fund”. Of course, it gets money from other things; sales tax, beer sales, etc. This money is used to pay for Police, Fire, Parks, Animal Control, and the “general” city offices such as City Recorder, Planning & Codes, City Court, and Human Resources. Without raising taxes, we had to cut somewhere. I have all respect for our Mayor and City Recorder, but when we started dissecting the budget as they had presented, we found huge problems! One of the ways they were “making the numbers work” is they were assuming that a piece of land on Jackson road, belonging to the city, would sell for $65,000.00. I was against using this to help balance! (Since then, it sold for much less and actually put us back in the negative). They had the sales tax that we would receive at nearly a hundred thousand dollars too much, when it was well known that this year’s amount would be low, and last year’s came in MANY thousands less. The Mayor and the two councilmen against this HR abolishment have told us, that they have “other” ideas how to balance this budget. The Mayor presented several things to us. One of them was to make every hourly city employee take off one day per month without pay! I’m sorry, but this wasn’t acceptable to me. Another of his ideas was to not borrow money for paving; in return, we’d save the interest payment on that loan. I asked if this would further impact out streets and cost more in the long run, I was told YES! So this wasn’t workable for me either. The other two councilmen have YET to present ONE SINGLE THING for us to consider. (Actually they both have been really behind spending money for this P.R. firm Buxton, which I agree may help the city in the long run) This HR abolishment was not the only thing we offered. We also asked to NOT fill the assistant position in Community Development, and we asked to NOT fill the vacant building inspector position. This HR has just got the most attention. I observed several other municipalities abolishing their HR department, and thought about considering it in Portland. NO disrespect to our HR department head, but I know that it is common knowledge that this person has lots of idle time on their hands. So it makes me wonder if this full-time position is necessary. To add insult to injury, and I am partially to blame, sometime back, we hired a secretary for this department head. The secretary is a dear friend of mine, but business is business and this $10,000.00 position needs to be eliminated. Yes I complained about HR having a city issued Blackberry phone budgeted at $750.00 yearly; (I still don’t understand, this department is not on call). This department does not fill payroll; it is performed in the city recorder’s office. This department doesn’t perform OSHA; our codes enforcement officer is doing this. And we’re paying this HR person over $61,000.00 yearly! We hired a firm to study the pay range of employees in our city, HR was given the job of assisting the firm, and came out of the study with one of the biggest raises of all! Don’t get me wrong! I KNOW that SOMEONE needs to be responsible for answering questions in regards to workers comp claims, health insurance, sexual harassment, etc, but I’m not sure this should cost the city $97,000.00 a year! We just want some concrete, workable solution to balance this budget. Yes, we can override the Mayor’s veto, but I hope and pray that before 30 days is up, a new set of “workable” ideas can be presented to offset this cost. We have tried to offer HR early retirement, and/or offer to pay her insurance till she can get it otherwise, but found out it’s not an option. So I assure you again, THIS IS NOT PERSONAL! There are just some of us who feel like this isn’t the best use of the taxpayers’ money, and that we could have the services performed at a MUCH less cost to the taxpayers. Folks, this is never an easy position to be in, we do the best we can sometimes! Please respect our decisions! You don’t have to always agree with our decisions, but please respect them. P.s. I’m not the greatest at debate, and I’m sure someone in blog world will eat my lunch with this post. I have honestly done my best …. Your friend, Jody McDowell
Well, it's going to be interesting to see how they handle this one.
I'm sure anyone who's ever had a job with a city or county knows that "politics" is behind everything. They can use the "budget" all they want for this, but I'm sure with a city with a multi-million dollar budget, if every area trimmed several thousand off it's expenses, I bet it could cover the HR dept....or so it seems. They should look at every detail, line by line, and make cuts everywhere they can to preserve this dept. ( even down to office supplies, lights left on, etc...everything ! ) That's just my opinion. To put all the woes on one Dept. is unfair, I think. From what I heard the salary is for that job, I'm sure they are regretting paying a person that much, but after the fact, who's going to ask the person to work for less ??? LOL Sooooo...looks like they're only recourse is to get rid of the dept, and deal with it however they think they can. SIGH......Portland. Eyes rolling.....
Yeah, I am curious what the council members that vote to get rid of the HR department will say to the HR Director after they get rid of the department? Which council member will have the gumption to go talk with the director and try to explain to her why they voted the way they did? She must feel awful about this.
LOL...for sure. Maybe they are going to use the HR dept. money to pay for the consulting firm !! Have they already made a contract with the consulting firm ?? Maybe that's what's behind the decision to get rid of the HR dept. They have to find the money somewhere.......they say.
you asked why council members wouldn't want help in recruiting retail business because not all voted for buxton, I ask, why did our previous council people drag their feet all these years!! this step now in hiring a consulting firm is many years too late, had they done so then maybe portland would be progressing in stead of regressing. How many times did the prior retail committee meet and what did they and prior council accomplish, not much or they wouldn't have to hire a consulting firm. either way doesn't matter, not all votes taken are unanimous probably more the money issue how can they talk about ending the hr dept and then spend this money on a consulting firm is beyond me.
I had a very interesting talk with someone the other day that kind of made me think about what I would do in a certain situation.
I have lived in Portland for over two years and my friend was asking me what I liked about the town.
I had to think for a little bit. My wife and I work in other cities and we do 95 percent of our shopping (clothes, food, etc) in other cities. We even go to church in another city.
They were talking about what Portland had to offer to someone who wasn't born and raised here. Often people in small towns want to keep their towns that way - small.
And I really didn't know what to answer.
I know the city council voted to hire Buxton to help with retail recruitment for the city and that vote wasn't even unanimous. I don't understand why council members wouldn't want help in recruiting retail business. It sure wasn't like we were going gangbusters bringing retail into town before.
As much as I think hiring Buxton was a great idea, what is this city going to do? There has to be a point person, someone working on behalf of the city, to work with Buxton and get out and talk to the companies. Is that the chamber director? The mayor doesn't have time and the EDC director doesn't have time. The city's retail committee hasn't met in almost four months.
Who knows.
I think this city needs to answer some questions about what they want for the future and how they're going to get it.
I noticed that the business that went into the old CARES building is open now...."Smiley's Market".....anybody been in there yet ?
Just wondering if anyone knows what they are building right past Lyon Crest on the 52?
Oh how terrible! I've seen him around for years, how sad. God bless him.
Yes, I understand he did round up carts at Fred's, and yes an older slender gentleman he always had the head phones on. What I understand and this is hear say, the driver said he stepped off the curve right in front of them and they had no time to respond that he was life flighted but passed before arrival at Vanderbilt. He will be missed.
Was this the kind of older guy (not a young guy) I've seen walking around town a lot. I saw him just the other day.
Yes, it was Marty. He was well known around town for years. It is sad that the he was hit when he always walks and crosses the hwy. I do not know if the driver was not paying attention or what, but I see people come off 52 onto 109S never slowing down. Growing up, I always remember Marty helping at Fred's wrangling shopping carts and moving the display items from the sidewalk to inside for the night to make a few bucks. He was always a nice guy. He will be missed.
I understand there was a fatality Friday evening where a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle near McDonalds, this is extremely sad as I believe many have seen this person in his journey's around town.
If the council does vote to get rid of the HR department and its director...and she decides to sue...I wonder what the council would give as a reason for dismissal?
I understand Tennessee is an at will state, but in the court of public opinion, what could be the council's reasoning??? Maybe, she didn't do her job??? No, she's been in the position for nine years...Maybe she's paid too much??? Well, who set the salary for the position?
The council said the work the HR department does do will be distributed to other city employees. Well, is the council going to make these employees do the extra work without training and for the same salary they currently make??? Is that fair??? And if you raise the salary of the employees for doing the extra HR work, are you saving money?
It is messed up.
HR Departments do more that just hire and fire people. They take part in payroll, benefits and sometimes even act the part of a liason between employee and supervisor. I could see where lawsuits could come into play. Would you want someone with virtually no experience handling a sticky situation between you and your supervisor? Or give you an incorrect answer you might have regarding your benefits? Think about the larger companies out there if they didnt have a HR Dept., it would be a nightmare. Like it or not, the City is a large company and they need someone in that role. If its that slow, let the part-timer go. That way, there is at least someone there with experience. Not having an entire department with NO ONE to answer questions is not the answer, imho. Granted it wont be saving 100k in salaries, but it will help....and keep the City's behind covered and if a lawsuit happens, who do you think will pay for THAT???
I'm wondering why the HR job pays so much in the first place.
It's more than the Mayor's salary, isn't it ?
Tennessee is a right to work state, but that doesen't mean anything goes. I think they're going to have to be careful about this one.
What about in a year or so, when things get better or they decide they need an HR Dept and want to revive it ? Would that present a problem ? Just wondering. I'm sure they will not offer the next person such a salary.....
And yes, I'm sure it's going to be us the taxpayer who will foot the bill for this one ultimately. Increased water and sewer bills, property taxes, what else can they raise ??? Maybe they could make 109 a toll road or something...or make us pay to use the parks, etc.
Off the subject ---- but noticed a " Bud Light" sign in the old CARES building's window tonight ......anybody know what this building is going to be ??
I don't know the exact figures but from what I heard at the meeting the salary alone is seventy some thousand, add to that the part time secretary wages, add to that benefits and employee taxes, gives you the round about figure of about $100k. What they will actually save I have no clue, everyone keeps mentioning law suits, my understanding is that Tennessee is an at will state, an employer needs no reason to terminate a person. Let me just say before I get blasted I am not in favor of this if there is another solid alternative made available.
As I said earlier, why can't they make the position part time, sure they would still have a salary to pay, maybe they could cut a third of this cost by doing that and then hope OT is better controlled. But they did say there is a lot of down time in this position and that is why I feel that way.
You know a lot of people are looking at the council and pointing the fingers and casting blame. I have to ask what got the city in this mess that they have to even consider this decision? Who's everyone going to point the finger at if they say, ok we can't cut this budget any further, and say, taxpayers.... dig into your pockets! Obviously things have strayed off key somewhere or we wouldn't be here debating this issue. Has the other councilmen that are against this brought forward any other solid options, I hear nobody screaming why they (the opposing parties) haven't done just that, if they did, what did they suggest. The only thing I've heard/read was the Mayor saying they would do a better job in keeping OT under control. If you don't like something, provide suggestions to fix it!
So to all of you that oppose this, what do you suggest they do or cut so they can get a balanced budget? Cut other positions? keep in mind they would probably have to cut 4,5 or more hourly positions to make up that amount. Close the parks? Stop repairing our streets? Stop Patrols or cut officers? Sell off property (that didn't go too well last week on Jackson Rd) or should they just get it over with and tell us, the tax payers, you'll have to pay more in taxes so this one department can be saved?
Being a realist myself, I know that anything said on a blog is simply people posting their opinions on a subject, and that is what a blog is for. Our opinions do not matter to the Council, I'm sure.
They are going to do whatever it is they want to do, for whatever their reasons are -- which I think we would all find interesting if we could be the proverbial flies on the wall.
What would matter is, if a petition were circulated calling for the City Council to justify what they are doing by giving the financial facts of this. Just how much money will be saved by getting rid of the HR Dept. and at what cost in aggravation for the city employees not to have an HR person. Seems to me this will end up in a huge mess in several areas. If I were the HR person, I'd be sitting in my lawyer's office right now. I don't remember any Councilman or woman stating a dollar amount.....have they figured it out or are they just guessing at what the benefits of the savings would be ?
All I heard was "it's about the money only" and the Blackberry was mentioned that she was given....LOL
The Council, I hope , will pay attention to what the lady said that spoke at the meeting, about the value of the HR Dept. and what all it's duties and responsibilities are to the employees and the city's business. Not just any secretary can take on these duties. Of course, that is what they are hoping for...to get someone to do this job for minimum wage.....and probably no benefits....LOL LOL ..someone who will do it for "the title". I'm being sarcastic on that one, but seriously...they really need to think hard about what they are doing on this. It could have disastrous effects. I really worry about the City Council and how they are making decisions.
Anyone who wants to have their opinion taken seriously on this issue should consider writing a letter to the editor to the local newspapers. Of course, then you'd have to actually sign your real name, something that, unfortunately, I think very few people who participate on the blog seem willing to do. But council members are more likely to take seriously the opinion of a person willing to put their name to it than the opinion of a person who is not.
i apologized for nothing names different no need to change mine i repliwed to a comment from tucker who said council should work for free thats all and being scarcastic at that
I watched the city council meeting last night on television and I saw where the council passed on (I think) first reading an ordinance to get rid of the HR department and remove a woman who is one year from retirement.
The thing I didn't hear last night was exactly how much money the removal of the HR department is actually gone to save the city. There has been no dollar total given by those voting for the ordinance.
I saw the ordinance to remove the HR department asked for the director to be removed the day after the ordinance was passed...the ordinance is passed on Monday night, Tuesday she's out of a job??? And they say it is not personal?
One councilman kept saying that he had no other options to consider other than removing the HR department. That's not true. The mayor has offered several different options and the council ignored them.
I don't know what the council is doing. The mayor vetoed the decision to pass the ordinance and I pray that at least three council members will vote with the mayor and vote against passing the ordinance.
Do what's right!
redjdog, please read my response to "hard times in ptown" again, especially the part where I say "I did not post the message related to the mayor and council reducing their pay." Clearly, I did not suggest the mayor and council reduce their pay. We are two different bloggers. Hard times in ptown said that, not me. Please don't include me in your suggestion.
BTW, hard times in ptown has now apologized for using a blogger name so close to mine. (hahahaha)
I posted the two short, senseless responses to the original "hard times" message and shouldn't have done so. I apologize first for my ignorance in using a name so much like his/hers, and second for continuing to respond while using his/her blogger name as if I was him/her. If I post anything further, I will be original enough to come up with my own name and not use one that someone else has been using. Please forgive my stupidity.
I agree, it seems they do want to get rid of the person in that position and are willing to use their positions as City Council representatives to accomplish this. What other conclusions could we draw since abolishing the HR dept would not save the city any money but could put the city in the position of being liable for law suits when something goes wrong. I strongly urge the citizens of Portland to get in touch with these council members and hold them accountable to show who will be responsible for taking care of personnel matters for the employees of the city, what kind of training will these employees receive who will undertake these tasks. You may not be city employee who will be directly impacted by this decision but you have owe it to yourselves as taxpayers and citizens of Portland to hold elected officials responsible to make decisions that are best for the city and not a few. I don't know the person personally in this office now but I do know the importance of a professional HR department.
I don't know all the details of the HR job, but just from what I've listened to from that Council meeting, it sounds like they want to let this person go, but they may face some legal issues if they do, so they are figuring the only way to do it, is to get rid of the Dept. with the reason for it being "the budget"........seems they are walking a delicate line here with this one. The mayor did a wise thing, I'm sure under advice from the attorney, to veto - therefore buying them some more time to try to figure out how to get rid of this person in a way that is "acceptable".......I think it stinks, personally.
It just looks like politics. to me ...........no money will be saved at all.
Sorry Red...this was not a post to reply from yours...I forgot to uncheck that. :)
I watched the City Council meeting today on TV...and I must say, the funniest thing I heard was the debate on the speed limit issue on 109 N. Reduce the speed for trucks????? How lopsided was that? If its a four lane highway....maybe. How about more patrols in the area to monitor dangerous drivers????? Get a reputation out there, be seen for heavens sake!!! Get the State Police to help out, heaven knows Ive seen state troopers hanging out at the weigh station on 65 so I know they could be doing more to help. I do like the idea of double yellows, but I have been passed on them. I dont want to take a picture with my cell phone, because then my focus is off the road like a texter. Not totally sure what the answer is, but there are folks out there being dangerous and something needs to happen.
How much will it cost to train at least one person in each department to perform the specialized functions of the HR dept? Who will take over their tasks while they are training? This is not an on-the-job training position! How much in overtime will it cost for the person designated in each dept to perform the functions of the HR person? And, you want to fire someone who has only a year left until retirement? Do the math!!! Just about the budget, nothing personal? I think not!!
Maybe hard times or hard times in Portland could donate part of their salary to help rather than asking the hard working council and mayor to give up the meager pay they are receiving for the hours they put in. I don't always agree with them but support the effort they put in to run a huge business with over 10,000 customers
i couldn't agree more
good point
Just to be clear....."hard times in ptown" is not the same blogger as "hard times" (which is me) who posted comments recently. I did not post the message related to the mayor and council reducing their pay.
Hey, hard times in ptown, one of us needs to use a new name on the blog. Since I used "hard times" first, you wanna changes yours? :-)
although the mayor used his veto power on this issue the council with 5 votes can over ride that veto at next months meeting if they so desire. to tucker--- good thinking maybe the mayor should roll back his wages to what they previously were before the last raise and the council can do the same that should help out quite a bit would you sit on this council today and do the job for nothing? I doubt it
Has any member of the council provided an alternative to eliminating this department??? Don't think so!! I saw two members of this council against this and pointing fingers at their counter parts using the personal grudge issue providing no other options!! I'm glad the mayor vetoed it, this will give them time once again to provide an alternative to this move, but how much time should they need, they've already had months to come up with a plan.
here's my thoughts for what it's worth
Make the HR manager position a part time position M, W, F cut the salary to reflect, eliminate the p/t secretary position for HR and delegate that job to others, If the current HR person wants to keep her job she would be first candidate for said position that way she keeps her job until she is retirement age next year which seems to be an issue, and the city keeps it's HR dept until the city is in a better financial position to support it full time. This should cut I don't know 30-35k maybe a little more or less from the budget. At least it's something and a little wiggle room in the budget. I'm sure there are many people in the community that are standing in the unemployment lines that would of loved to had this possibility to consider versus no job when they were laid off. Come January I still think we'll be looking at further issues, jmo.
As far as others taking on parts of this job, most all job descriptions have a clause reading something to the effect, "and other tasks assigned" this should be the least of the worries.
So, the council voted to get rid of the HR Department and the mayor vetoed it! Way to go, mayor. I support that move. I am so happy for the director of that department and that she will not lose her job!
Does anyone know which councilmen voted to do away with the HR Department?
Hey, what if the councilmen voted to not receive any pay for their time on the council? That would save some money!
Yes, they voted to do away with the HR Dept but the Mayor used his power of veto! I posted after the council meeting but did it in the August blog instead of Sept. - my bad!
Or you could just call the Parks Department and report it instead of waiting for someone to read about it on here. What a concept!
Hey...has anyone heard what happened at the council meeting tonight? Did they decide to do away with the human resources department?
I went to Meadow Brook Park tonight to walk for the frist time in a year and noticed that the track has a bad hole forming on the back side of the track. It needs to be fixed before someone fall's and breaks their ankle. If any of the council members read this Please pass this on to the Parks people.