April 2006 Archives

Source: JONATHAN ROOS, Des Moines Register (IA), April 26, 2006

Businesses providing state services would be held to new standards under a government accountability plan outlined Tuesday by Senate Republicans. Contractors doing work for the state would be required to disclose managers' salaries, submit annual financial reports and set nepotism and conflict-of-interest standards. They also would be required to have whistle-blower protection similar to what is afforded to state employees who report wrongdoing.

Source: By Mike Miller, Capital Times (WI), April 26, 2006

The troubled state voter list is indeed a public record, state officials decided Monday, thus paving the way to ending a legal squabble in which a political consulting business was suing to obtain copies of the list.

......Congress passed legislation in 2002 requiring all states to create a state-wide voter list by Jan. 1, 2006. Creation of the list has been a massive headache for the Elections Board, whose executive director, Kevin Kennedy, decided to contract out the work to a private firm instead of using state employees. The Bermuda firm that got the work, Accenture, also had contracts in other states but those states dropped the firm, citing continuous delays in getting the work done. Wisconsin is the only state still using Accenture. The latest prediction is that the list, which backers in Congress said will make it easier to track voters and to assure that only qualified voters are allowed to vote, probably will not be finished in time for the fall elections.

by: Veronica Lewis, New University Paper (CA), April 26, 2006

In response to increasing pressure from student and worker groups culminating in a planned candlelight vigil in front of Chancellor Michael Drake’s house on Jan. 26, UC Irvine administrators have determined to employ campus food service workers directly, and to offer them the same benefits as other UC employees. Details of the agreement between workers and administrators are yet to be finalized, but it is likely that the change will come at an increased cost to students.

...... It is estimated that about 170 employees will be affected by the move. Depending on their situations, it will cost between $8,000 and $12,000 annually to bring each worker in-house. The total financial impact on the university will be about $1.7 million each year. The Aramark workers who operate the on-campus dining and food facilities will be required to join the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 labor union once contract terms are finalized.

Source: By STEVE SCHULTZE, Journal Sentinel (WI), April 26, 2006

Milwaukee County provided lax oversight and entered poorly written lease deals with private food vendors at Lake, O'Donnell and Red Arrow parks, said an audit released Tuesday. But County Executive Scott Walker said the shortcomings shouldn't hamper his efforts to expand privatization at county parks and other facilities. Walker has suggested placing additional coffee shops in parks and scrutiny of other commercial deals to help plug a growing county budget gap.

Source: by Frank Smith, Vice President for AFSCME’s Alaska Retiree Chapter, Kansas Workbeat AFL-CIO, April 2006

Thanks to distortion of our legislative procedures a bill clearly against the interests of public safety and protection of Kansas taxpayers may soon win passage. Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt from Independence has inserted special interest, for-profit prison language into a veto-proof sexual offender bill, HB2576. For three years, Schmidt’s similar bills were unable to win passage on their own merits. ....... An Arizona study released last month revealed that public prisons are 8.5%-13.5% less costly than private prisons. Governor Sibelius has requested $20 million to expand existing facilities. Our Kansas Department Of Corrections Secretary, Roger Werholtz, regularly testified that such expansion would save Kansas considerable revenues.

Source: By ALISON LEIGH COWAN, New York Times (CT), April 25, 2006

Prosecutors provided new details yesterday on the extent to which associates of former Gov. John G. Rowland used his office for their personal enrichment in the years he ran Connecticut, filling in the blanks on a chapter of Connecticut history that left it with the nickname Corrupt-icut. A 23-page document, filed by prosecutors in United States District Court on Friday and made public yesterday, described how William A. Tomasso, a top state contractor, was able to ply two of the governor's top assistants with $200,000 worth of limousine rides, trips to topless clubs, cash-stuffed envelopes, gold coins and other inducements to cement their friendship and encourage them to steer more state business his way.

Source: BY MARC CAPUTO, Miami Herald (FL), Tue, Apr. 25, 2006

Payroll problems. Paperwork and computer foul-ups. Questionable promises of saving taxpayers money. According to a new legislative audit, the controversial $350 million contract farming out the state's massive human-resources responsibilities to the Convergys company is still rife with troubles. In some cases, the audit says, state agencies have had to spend more staff time and tax money to make the system work, even though the so-called ''People First'' contract was supposed to streamline, centralize and computerize the state's personnel system. …… None of it comes as a surprise to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The union long predicted that taxpayers would see little savings and that state workers would get more headaches from the contract.

Source: By ROBIN FITZGERALD, Sun Herald (MS), Fri, Mar. 31, 2006

GULFPORT - The issue of privatizing the Harrison County jail rears its head as county supervisors grapple with growing frustrations over a wrongful-death lawsuit involving an inmate. Aside from liability concerns in the homicide of Jessie Lee Williams Jr., county supervisors say they have related concerns: the secrecy, the public's trust, communication problems with the sheriff and the merits of hiring a private company to run the jail. ...... Supervisor Larry Benefield said the timing is "excellent" for considering a private company to run the jail. "All we know about the jail incident is what we've read in the newspaper. We represent the taxpayers, yet we're like the last to know, officially, what it's about. In my opinion, privatization could save us money and would require the private company to bear a lot of the legal responsibility in a case like this."

Source: Eric Dexheimer, AMERICAN-STATESMAN (TX), Monday, April 24, 2006

While a number of companies advertise themselves as waste haulers, a handful of big businesses control the bulk of the industry. In Central Texas, Waste Management, Allied Waste, Texas Disposal Systems and Industrial Environmental Services Inc. are the largest. The country's largest trash-hauling company is Waste Management Inc., of which the Texas branch is a subsidiary. The company operates 22 landfills in Texas, six of those in Central Texas. Last year the parent corporation reported revenue of more than $13 billion. Its profits have steadily increased since 2000.

...... The garbage companies also work hard to influence government officials. Texas Disposal Systems maintains a plush, safari-themed lodge on its grounds south of Austin, and the company lets nonprofit organizations use it for fundraising. But it's also a meet-and-greet spot for well-connected politicians. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn attended one recent political function. Scott McClellan, President Bush's former spokesman and a son of Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the state comptroller and a gubernatorial candidate, was married there.

Source: Elaine Allen-Emrich, Sun Herald (FL), April 23, 2006

Hello North Port. As city commissioners are about to investigate outsourcing the city's trash collection, there are some critical-thinking measures which should still be considered. …… Speaking of listening, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union contract with the city states that before the city negotiates with any outsource firm, it must first seek input from the union president whose members will be impacted by any outcomes. Some Solid Waste employees, who stand to lose their seniority in the city, are AFSCME union members.