“I love my job, and I want to answer everybody, and I can’t do it with the resources I have now,” Mayor Steve Bateman said during the sometimes tense discussion.
Three More Police Officers Can Be Added To Crime Ridden Homestead For The Same Amount
The Mayor No Longer Supports The Police Department?
$311,000 Is What Bateman, Fairclough-McCormick, Waldman, Maldonado and Williams Will Spend Additionally On Their Staff
Just a few years ago one person was assigned to the Mayor and Council, then it was two, soon it will be seven. This is the only dept. they manage and it is clearly out of control. Vice-Mayor Burgess and Councilman Shelley voted no on this expansion plan.
Miami Herald Report Is Below
Homestead City Council members decided they all need their own assistants to effectively get all their work done.
By Christina Veiga
cveiga@MiamiHerald.com
Homestead’s mayor, council and their assistants are overworked, council members said Wednesday.
So they voted to hire an assistant for each of the seven elected officials who serve in the city. At the time, they didn’t know how much the new hires will cost, and instructed city officials to come back with an estimate before a final vote by the council.
“I love my job, and I want to answer everybody, and I can’t do it with the resources I have now,” Mayor Steve Bateman said during the sometimes tense discussion.
Four full-time aides currently work for the mayor and council — answering phone calls, scheduling meetings, arranging travel details. They make between $40,000 and $51,000 for their work, according to Homestead’s spokeswoman. One of the helpers is a “temp” hired through a staffing agency.
They all qualify for overtime, which has cost the city between $4,000 and $8,000 per assistant, according to figures provided by the city.
Additionally, the three assistants hired through the city get almost $27,000 in fringe benefits, according to a draft memo sent Thursday from the city’s finance director to the city manager.
The finance director wrote that the new positions would cost the city $311,000.
Councilman Jimmie Williams brought the issue up for discussion, saying there is too much staff turnover in the office of the mayor and council. Assistant Ana Paneque recently was reassigned to another city department because her position as an aide to the mayor and council was overwhelming, Councilwoman Judy Waldman told the Miami Herald.
Council members bickered amongst themselves over who uses the aides more, and whose events and needs seem to take precedence when it comes to staff time.
So they voted to hire an assistant for each of the seven elected officials who serve in the city. At the time, they didn’t know how much the new hires will cost, and instructed city officials to come back with an estimate before a final vote by the council.
“I love my job, and I want to answer everybody, and I can’t do it with the resources I have now,” Mayor Steve Bateman said during the sometimes tense discussion.
Four full-time aides currently work for the mayor and council — answering phone calls, scheduling meetings, arranging travel details. They make between $40,000 and $51,000 for their work, according to Homestead’s spokeswoman. One of the helpers is a “temp” hired through a staffing agency.
They all qualify for overtime, which has cost the city between $4,000 and $8,000 per assistant, according to figures provided by the city.
Additionally, the three assistants hired through the city get almost $27,000 in fringe benefits, according to a draft memo sent Thursday from the city’s finance director to the city manager.
The finance director wrote that the new positions would cost the city $311,000.
Councilman Jimmie Williams brought the issue up for discussion, saying there is too much staff turnover in the office of the mayor and council. Assistant Ana Paneque recently was reassigned to another city department because her position as an aide to the mayor and council was overwhelming, Councilwoman Judy Waldman told the Miami Herald.
Council members bickered amongst themselves over who uses the aides more, and whose events and needs seem to take precedence when it comes to staff time.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/13/3141119/homestead-council-members-want.html#storylink=cpy
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