Good question.
Councilor Staggers has asked the question several times and City Hall refuses to give him an answer. He brings it up again on Inside Town Hall last week. I guess it didn’t sit well with the beauracratic department heads. How dare they have to reveal how they are (wastefully) spending our money!
He also talks about other open government issues;
Inside Town Hall – January 5, 2009
Openness in Government – Council member Kermit Staggers discusses his views on how to keep city government open to all citizens.
Being a consultant is a pretty good gig, if you can swing it.
You don’t have to actually do anything – you just suggest it.
I think one of the most ridiculous consulting fees I heard about with the city was when they basically paid an architecture firm $40,000 to look at old pictures of Washington HS when it was first built and tell the city, these are the kind of windows you need. Oh, and I’m sure they found them a supplier to.
“I personally guarantee it!” – Betty, co-owner
I used to work with a consultant who oversaw several projects at my old employer. They could have hired a full time project manager for a lot less than this guy was invoicing, benefits included. He was a friend of an SVP, so he got to write his own ticket.
I don’t blame consultants, I blame people who are stupid enough to pay them those kind of fees.