05/27/04 Ted Benavides

Did I read City has nowhere to go but down correctly that DallasArena.com is almost saying something nice about Ted Benavides?  And Ron Kirk? 

I think hell may have just frozen over! 

As a City employee, I have had misgivings about Benavides, but Laura Miller is nothing short of a disaster.  She is so power mad that no one will ever be able to perform the City Manager function as it is envisioned in the Charter. 

We may have lucked out on the new police chief because he knows what he's in for and appears to be a cop's cop who wants nothing more than to be a cop - probably a good thing. 

I don't think they will even consider a highly qualified, professional City manager because that person would try to do the job as the Charter mandates.  You are absolutely right - Laura Miller and the Council want someone who can be pushed around.  This mayor and council are the reason the council/manager form of government isn't working.  There is anything in it that is inherently unworkable.  

As a senior manager, I now have to deal with a civilian workforce that is absolutely demoralized.  Sick leave is through the roof because there is no longer any incentive to come to work (no performance-based merit raises for 4 years and counting).  I don't mind not getting cost-of-living raises in hard times, but eliminating merit pay is a big mistake. 

I recently did my taxes and made $3,500 less in 2003 than in 2002.  Coupled with new $1,000 per family member insurance deductibles, everyone has received substantial pay cuts while Laura Miller blithely states a pay raise for next year is "not in the cards".  And how does the City management address the sick leave abuse?  They are investigating it through the auditor with the aim of kicking some ass.  But, I digress.

I also want to commend you on the Mary Suhm issues.  She is exactly what they want and hopefully won't be the one. 

In future comments, I will clue you in to the off-the-radar multimillion dollar giveaway at Lake Ray Hubbard, instigated by Mary Suhm.  (Hint: how much is lakefront property 15 miles from downtown Dallas worth?