Yes. Yes, and Yes.
I’ve been bitching about this since Munson was mayor. I have often felt with all the 6-figure a year professionals the city already has working for them, it is ludicrous that we have to hire so many consultants. It all comes down to accountability and responsibility. It’s like none of the city directors/managers want to be accountable for the decisions they make, so they hire a consultant.
While NO one has an exact accounting of what the city spends on consultants (the finance department has conveniently separated those costs within each department, and like the infamous NO MOW list, there doesn’t seem to be a spreadsheet anywhere that gives an exact amount) some estimate it is around $10-12 million a year.
But here is where you really should start scratching your head;
“$850,000 over a two year period seems like it’s just over the top,” Councilwoman Theresa Stehly said.
The wastewater consulting company logged 5,000 hours. Let’s put that into perspective. Five-Thousand hours over 2 years equals the work of 1.3 FTE’s. If you assume the average pay and benefits of a city manager is $65,000 a year, that $850K equals the pay of 13 Full time city managers in one year. Like I said, why not depend on the expertise of the city employee professionals we already have working for us, instead of a consultant that charges us a ridiculous amount?
Because it is easier to not be accountable when things go wrong.