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Moreofthesame,

I havent missed the point of the letter or anything else for that matter. Yes the administration is partly to blame as well. I don't remember you voicing any opinion at the budget hearings when for 3 years Len Flood failed to produce a budget, had a contract that gave him 15 paid holidays, 5 weeks vacation and 90 sick days per year. I however, bitched loudly about that, especial;y after the man went out on sick leave for months, then came back for one day, and took vacation to the Caribbean to marry his boyfriend, who by the way, was also a city employee enjoying ridiculous benefits. Talk about a waste. Didn't hear 1 teacher complain at the budget hearings. The issue was so outrageous and controversial that it made the NY Times. One of the article links below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/fashion/weddings/03olsen.html

http://johnstonsunrise.net/stories/retired-school-finance-director-fills-post-at-600-a-day,47018

http://johnstonsunrise.net/stories/with-267-fewer-students-warwick-school-costs-35-more-than-neighbor-cranston,49024

In 3 years Flood took 15 weeks vacation, 270 days sick leave, and 45 paid holidays and $375,000. Nice contract eh? Didn't hear anyone bitch about that.

By the way, Im not whining about sending my kids to private school. I did as my parents did for me. My parents in the 70's knew the Warwick school system was a mess, and it hasn't changed much at all. The difference in private school is that as a teacher, if you don't produce results, your history. You are protected by your excellence, not your union. As far as offering solutions? Its pretty obvious that you have never attended a council finance meeting or read a newspaper. There are not many people who have offered as many solutions as I have. But again, when you offer solutions to people with pea brains like Donna Travis or Karen Bachus, what do you expect??

Solutions? Here are a few that have been offered.

* No more colas for the retired

* 50% copay on healthcare for all municipal employees (just as is done in virtually every community in MA) or offer several different plans. (by the way, that solution was offered by the healthcare expert that was hired at a cost of $12000 by Wilkinson, then she ignored all of the recommendations. I and others offered the same recommendations for free for several years)

* Immediately eliminate free lifetime healthcare. Presently we have a $310 million liability with not 1 penny in the bank (brilliant financing there eh?)

* Increase deductibles at hospital and ER visits and prescription copays. Theses fees should be on par with the majority of the private sector care fees.

* Eliminate the gross abuse of sick time, overtime, and totally restructure the ridiculous concept of unused sick pay. National average sick days in the private sector is 4.5. WFD is 20 per man, (that of course is on top of the UNLIMITED SICK TIME allowed by RIGL Title 45) Unlimited is not enough, the poor fire fighters need unlimited +20. Talk about abuse. Just so you understand (if you can do math) the last contract allowed for 13,200 sick days for that department. What a joke, what a scam.

* GPS monitoring in every vehicle with the exception of sanitation vehicles. This would bring efficiency in Warwick to the 20th century (like EVERY municipality in MA) would also eliminate the school dept. and dpw driving around hiding out 1/2 the day, wasting fuel, wear and tear, not to mention the theft from people like David Laplante. But Bachus thinks GPS is an infringement on civil rights. That mentality is why your school dept. is in crisis

* The amount of city workers needs to be reduced. None of our departments are operating with any efficiency.

* Eliminate minimum manning and put 3 men on a rescue. That way the only wear and tear on the engines and ladder trucks will be driving to stop & shop and daves. Lets face it, 1 real fire in 10 years, and they f''ed it up.

* Water department should be privatized

* DPW and WSA should be overseen by individuals that have post secondary education and are ABC licensed superintendents with no union ties or connections

* The retirement system is laughable and should be converted to a defined contribution program only. Defined benefit programs are bankrupting municipalities all over the country. Look at the debt that Police /fire 1 has incurred on the city. 40 year re-amortization, 314 million over 26 years to reduce the debt by 7 million. That's finance genius for sure.

So you see, I'm just starting. But Ive said all of these things in public for years. Nothing gets done, more debt gets piled on, your schools are dung heap structures, and the education coming from them isn't much better according to the state statistics.

So now that you have my ideas, why dont you offer some of your own. You can do that in the form of a letter to the editor with your name on it, you can approach the microphone at the budget hearings and make your comments known, or you can bloviate and complain on the Beacon Blog and condemn those that have had the balls to stand up in public and voice their opinions.

One more thing, just before you condemn me be aware of one fact. MY efforts and My efforts alone increased your auto tax exemption from $500 - $2000. MY efforts returned $7.5 million back to the taxpayer in the city of Warwick. What have your efforts returned. There is not 1 seated council member that can point to that kind of return to the taxpayer. So have at it.