The Daily Hustle: 7/16/10

The city released the results of online voting over budget items yesterday, and yeah, it's a doozy. Check the top ten recos below the fold…

Top 10 Service Reductions (with some original comments listed below)

Eliminate free co-sponsorships of community special events, 1,924 votes

Eliminate funding for F1 Race, 1,617 votes

Suspend the Trail of Lights Festival, 1,600 votes

Eliminate payment to jurors who report for service but do not serve on a jury, 1,468 votes

Eliminate 20% Top Heavy City Administration, 1,460 votes (Reduce all city employees earning $100k or higher by 20%.)

Reduce sworn overtime by $1,200,000, 1,201 votes

Do away with the spanish speaking stipend, 1,160 votes

Limit the maximum annual pay out to any patrol officer to $80,000 per year, 1,120 votes

Discontinue the LBJ Fire Academy, 1,002 votes

Reduce pool hours/close underused sites, 976 votes (This would reduce the daily hours at 24 pools by two hours per day and close two pool that have low usage (Civitan and Kealing)).

Top 10 Additional Unmet Service Demands

Add 35 new officers, 2,273 votes 14 police officers, 12 detectives, 2 corporals, 6 sergeants, and 1 lieutenant.

100 officers, 1,875 votes (THIS IS THE TRUE NUMBER OF OFFICERS PROPOSED BY THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION. THIS WILL GET US CLOSER TOO WHAT CHIEF ACEVEDO WANTS. THIS INCLUDES 50 FTE'S BY 03/2011 AND 50 FTE'S BY 09/2011)

Parks and pools facility maintenance, 1,828 votes

Center for Child Protection, 1,817 votes

Request to fund two family advocate positions

Downtown parks maintenance crew, 1,409 votes

Increase Library materials budget for books/dvds, 1,406 votes

Budget line for temporary [library] employees, 1,366 vote

District/neighborhood park maintenance, 1,280 votes

Additional Library branch delivery units, 1,218 votes

Increase the range and efficiency of mass transit, 1,214 votes (The City of Austin should feel compelled, in the wake of the tragic 'accident' in the Gulf of Mexico, to increase resources directed at expanding and making more efficient the mass transit system in this great city.)

It's hard to overlook the somewhat schizophrenic quality of the top 10 vote-getters: slashing police salaries and overtime (likely neither possible without a realignment of existing cop contracts) in one category, then adding up to 100 new police positions in the other; closing park resources, then adding back in the other column; and the high-ranking of eliminating F1 funding, when the only funds close to allotted come from the state. Have fun with this one, Mr. Ott …

The Hustle will have more on this next week. In the meantime, peruse both lists at the city's website.

What the hell else is happening?

On the city calendar: With Live From the Plaza still canceled, not much of a damn thing.

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