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DATE | 2020-07-13 |
FROM | Ruben Safir
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SUBJECT | Re: [Hangout - NYLXS] [ Docs ] Undermining our Government and
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nydailynews.com NYC Transit chief Sarah Feinberg says MTA has no organizational chart, vows to cut fat out of agency Clayton Guse 5-6 minutes
MTA officials have run into a unique obstacle in their efforts to cut costs: The agency has no organizational chart detailing what each of its 70,000 employees do, or who they even report to.
Interim NYC Transit president Sarah Feinberg said in an interview with the Daily News Thursday that she was confounded last month when no one was able to provide her with a full breakdown of the workforce shes led since March.
Some managers maintain a chart of their own employees, but there is no unified document for the whole agency, Feinberg said.
That chart would serve as a sort of Rosetta Stone for the massive bureaucracy, and she said its necessary in order to find ways to save money.
Still, some MTA sources said an org chart might further complicate the agency because so much of its work runs on personal relationships.
There are people who do not work here who we are paying, said Feinberg. Its crazy ... I absolutely believe there are a lot of people wandering around and no one knows who they report to.
Feinberg said shes working with other Metropolitan Transportation Authority honchos to build out an org chart but thats just a small measure of the problems the nations largest transit agency faces as the coronavirus pandemic continues to crater its finances.
MTA chairman Pat Foye has requested an additional $3.9 billion in relief from Congress in order to keep mass transit service running across the five boroughs for the rest of 2020. The agency in March received roughly $4 billion from the feds.
MTA chairman and CEO Patrick Foye.
MTA chairman and CEO Patrick Foye. (Frank Franklin II/AP)
The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives included the relief money in a bill the chamber passed in May, but there is no indication that the Republican-controlled Senate will sign off.
Feinberg said every dollar she saves buys her more time before shes forced to execute devastating reductions in subway and bus service.
Im basically doing my own reorganization, said Feinberg. Ive been here four months, before that I was on the MTA board for a year. Weve been talking about transformation and consolidation the entire time.
I cant wait any longer to save money, she added.
MTA Chief Transformation Officer Anthony McCord.
MTA Chief Transformation Officer Anthony McCord. (HANDOUT)
Feinberg expressed a distaste for many MTA consultants and said she does not need them in order to find ways to cut costs or build out her master org chart.
The first thing you do is cut internally, you cut the consultants, cut the s--t you didnt even know you were spending money on, said Feinberg. There is money being spent here that I did not know about.
She said shes received three different lists of all the consultants that have contracts with NYC Transit, and is trying to identify which ones are unnecessary.
Feinberg said shes also put a hold on spending money for employees to travel out of state, and plans to crack down on dozens of workers who use MTA-owned vehicles for personal trips and commutes.
Whats more, she said managers across the agency have found ways to get around a hiring freeze put in place in 2018, which was supposed to keep any new non-essential employees from joining the agency.
The way you get around a hiring freeze is by saying, I need to hire this person in order to continue operations or in order to keep the system safe, said Feinberg. You can give someone an operational title like conductor, but what you really have them do is data entry or be someones driver.
There is also little oversight when it comes to how the MTA hires people, Feinberg said. The agencys human resources department is given a budget, and just brings in new staff until its spent, a process the transit boss said she wants to fix.
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You tell me my budget is $100, and I just hire people until Ive spent that $100, she said. Its almost like you blindly walk down the aisle at a grocery store and what is in your cart is a surprise.
The lack of organization at the MTA has also hampered transit officials efforts to do in-house contact tracing among employees who may have been exposed to COVID-19. The disease has killed at least 131 agency employees.
The agency has no phone number or email address on file for thousands of its workers, Feinberg said. Officials have mulled giving every single worker an MTA email account, but found that it would cost $3 million annually.
Its not clear how quickly Feinberg will be able to hack away at NYC Transit. MTA executives have for decades attempted to introduce reforms and make the place more efficient, but have largely fallen short.
But Feinberg said the COVID-19 outbreak has made it clearer than ever that the agency needs to change.
There are going to be a lot of cuts that will be painful, but they need to come, she said. Some of them we never would have done, but we have to do them because we are in this position with the pandemic.
On Mon, Jul 13, 2020 at 03:18:29PM -0400, Ruben Safir via Docs wrote: > > http://www.salon.com/2020/07/13/coronavirus-side-effects-deep-budget-cuts-for-state-and-local-government-services_partner/ > > > Bridges, Schools, Libraries, Public Safety, Rodes, Healthcare Workers are all heading for layoffs and > pension cutbacks. The result of the lockdown, not the virus, is a death > spiral.. > > > Salon.com > Coronaviruss painful side effect is deep budget cuts for state and local > government services > 7-9 minutes > > Nationwide, state and local government leaders are warning of major > budget cuts as a result of the pandemic. One state New York even > referred to the magnitude of its cuts as having "no precedent in modern > times." > > Declining revenue combined with unexpected expenditures and requirements > to balance budgets means state and local governments need to cut > spending and possibly raise taxes or dip into reserve funds to cover the > hundreds of billions of dollars lost by state and local government over > the next two to three years because of the pandemic. > > Without more federal aid or access to other sources of money (like > reserve funds or borrowing), government officials have made it clear: > Budget cuts will be happening in the coming years. > > And while specifics are not yet available in all cases, those cuts have > already included reducing the number of state and local jobs from > firefighters to garbage collectors to librarians and slashing spending > for education, social services and roads and bridges. > > In some states, agencies have been directed to cut their budget as much > as 15% or 20% a tough challenge as most states prepared budgets for a > new fiscal year that began July 1. > > As a scholar of public administration who researches how governments > spend money, here are the ways state and local governments have reduced > spending to close the budget gap. > > Cutting jobs > > State and local governments laid off or furloughed 1.5 million workers > in April and May. > > They are also reducing spending on employees. According to surveys, > government workers are feeling personal financial strain as many state > and local governments have cut merit raises and regular salary > increases, frozen hiring, reduced salaries and cut seasonal employees. > > Washington state, for example, cut both merit raises and instituted > furloughs. > > A survey from the National League of Cities shows 32% of cities will > have to furlough or lay off employees and 41% have hiring freezes in > place or planned as a result of the pandemic. > > Employment reductions have met some resistance. In Nevada, for example, > a state worker union filed a complaint against the governor to the > state's labor relations board for violating a collective bargaining > statute by not negotiating on furloughs and salary freezes. > > Most of the employee cuts have been made in education. Teachers, > classroom aids, administrators, staff, maintenance crews, bus drivers > and other school employees have seen salary cuts and layoffs. > > The job loss has hurt public employees beyond education, too: > librarians, garbage collectors, counselors, social workers, police > officers, firefighters, doctors, nurses, health aides, park rangers, > maintenance crews, administrative assistants and others have been > affected. > > Residents also face the consequences of these cuts: They can't get ahold > of staff in the city's water and sewer departments to talk about their > bill; they can't use the internet at the library to look for jobs; their > children can't get needed services in school. > > Most of these cuts have been labeled temporary, but with the extensions > to stay-at-home orders and a mostly closed economy, it will be some time > before these employees are back to work. > > Suspending road, bridges, building and water system projects > > As another way to reduce costs quickly, a National League of Cities > survey shows 65% of the municipalities surveyed are stopping > temporarily, or completely, capital expenditure and infrastructure > projects like roads, bridges, buildings, water systems or parking > garages. > > In New York City, there is a US$2.3 billion proposed cut to the capital > budget, a fund that supports large, multiyear investments from sidewalk > and road maintenance, school buildings, senior centers, fire trucks, > sewers, playgrounds, to park upkeep. There are potentially serious > consequences for residents. For example, New York housing advocates are > concerned that these cuts will hurt plans for 21,000 affordable homes. > > Suspending these big money projects will save the government money in > the short term. But it will potentially harm the struggling economy, > since both public and private sectors benefit from better roads, > bridges, schools and water systems and the jobs these projects create. > > Delaying maintenance also has consequences for the deteriorating > infrastructure in the U.S. The costs of unaddressed repairs could > increase future costs. It can cost more to replace a crumbling building > than it does to fix one in better repair. > > Cities and towns hit > > In many states, the new budgets severely cut their aid to local > governments, which will lead to large local cuts in education both K-12 > and higher education as well as social programs, transportation, health > care and other areas. > > New York state's budget proposes that part of its fiscal year 2021 > budget shortfall will be balanced by $8.2 billion in reductions in aid > to localities. This is the state where the cuts were referred to in the > budget as "not seen in modern times." This money is normally spent on > many important services that residents need everyday mass transit, > adult and elderly care, mental health support, substance abuse programs, > school programs like special education, children's health insurance and > more. Lacking any of these support services can be devastating to a > person, especially in this difficult time. > > Fewer workers, less money > > As teachers and administrators figure out how to teach both online and > in person, they and their schools will need more money not less to > meet students' needs. > > Libraries, which provide services to many communities, from free > computer use to after-school programs for children, will have to cut > back. They may have fewer workers, be open for fewer hours and not offer > as many programs to the public. > > Parks may not be maintained, broken playground equipment may stay that > way, and workers may not repave paths and mow lawns. Completely separate > from activists' calls to shift police funding to other priorities, > police departments' budgets may be slashed just for lack of cash to pay > the officers. Similar cuts to firefighters and ambulance workers may > mean poorly equipped responders take longer to arrive on a scene and > have less training to deal with the emergency. > > To keep with developing public safety standards, more maintenance staff > and materials will be needed to clean and sanitize schools, courtrooms, > auditoriums, correctional facilities, metro stations, buses and other > public spaces. Strained budgets and employees will make it harder to > complete these new essential tasks throughout the day. > > To avoid deeper cuts, state and local government officials are trying a > host of strategies including borrowing money, using rainy day funds, > increasing revenue by raising tax rates or creating new taxes or fees, > ending tax exemptions and using federal aid as legally allowed. > > Colorado was able to hold its budget to only a 3% reduction, relying > largely on one-time emergency reserve funds. Delaware managed to > maintain its budget and avoided layoffs largely through using money set > aside in a reserve account. > > Nobody knows how long the pandemic, or its economic effects, will last. > > In the worst-case scenario, budget officials are prepared to make > steeper cuts in the coming months if more assistance does not come from > the federal government or the economy does not recover quickly enough to > restore the flow of money that governments need to operate. > > Carla Flink, Assistant Professor of Public Administration and Policy, > American University > - > So many immigrant groups have swept through our town > that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological > proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998 > http://www.mrbrklyn.com > > DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002 > http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software > http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive > http://www.coinhangout.com - coins! > http://www.brooklyn-living.com > > Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps, > but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013 > > -- > Docs mailing list > Docs-at-mrbrklyn.com > http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/docs
-- So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI Safir 1998 http://www.mrbrklyn.com
DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir 2002 http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software http://www2.mrbrklyn.com/resources - Unpublished Archive http://www.coinhangout.com - coins! http://www.brooklyn-living.com
Being so tracked is for FARM ANIMALS and extermination camps, but incompatible with living as a free human being. -RI Safir 2013
_______________________________________________ Hangout mailing list Hangout-at-nylxs.com http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
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