North Miami Beach employee and AFSCME President Janice Coakley starts every public comment in response to a department’s budget presentation with the phrase, “I have a problem with that.”  Ever since the Budget Season has begun, she has been constantly telling the Mayor, Council and City Manager that the workforce in our city is top heavy.  What she means is that there are too many managers and not enough workers, and that “it’s always the little person to get cut.”  I tend to agree with her.  Janice, I have a problem with that, too.

As Councilwoman Phyllis Smith noted in last night’s budget workshop, the Customer Service Department has 22 employees and 6 managers.  Phyllis calculated that roughly one quarter of the staff of that department are managers, or that each manager supervises a grand total of 2.7 workers.  Yeah, I’d say that sounds pretty top heavy to me.  But what I find really incredible is that with all those employees in Customer Service, they still can’t find someone to answer the phone.  I’m just saying.

Now in all fairness to comments I received from some employees, without proper supervision from department heads and managers, the “little people” would run amok.  Even in the private sector, which as you know I work in, our “little people,” i.e., secretaries, sales people, cashiers, food servers, etc., need bosses to make sure we’re working efficiently and doing our jobs properly.  But, even in the private sector, when you have too many Chiefs telling us what to do, and not enough Indians to do the jobs, turmoil usually ensues.

As Ms. Coakley and several other Council members and residents noted last night, there are far too many people at the top at North Miami Beach City Hall, raking in the big bucks, while the actual workers who get stuff done are making the least amount of pay and receiving the least amount of benefits.  Janice, I have a problem with that, too.

One thing that really stood out was when Councilwoman Barbara Kramer mentioned that the city cannot give a raise to someone unless that employee has two more people working under him or her.  So in order to get a raise, those employees need to create two positions and scare up two bodies to supervise.  What kind of crap is that?  This policy needs to be challenged and changed immediately!

A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to chat with a former colleague of mine, JT, an attorney I worked with for about fifteen years when he and my boss were partners in a small law firm.  I also happened to know JT from high school, so we go way back.  We were reminiscing about the good old days when our office was made up of four lawyers, four secretaries, two paralegals and a receptionist.  Remember, these were the days when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.  It was before the telex machine was invented (a precursor to the now antiquated fax machine), the Xerox copier was the latest in technology, having just replaced the mimeograph machine, Wang Word Processors were all the rage if you could afford one at about $20k a pop, and only NASA had computers, which took up entire floors of buildings.  My most cherished office possessions were my brand new IBM Selectric III Self-Correcting Typewriter (no more messy White Out!) and my trusty package of carbon paper I stashed in my drawer (in case the Xerox broke down).

I called JT to see if he could email me some legal forms I needed, and we started talking about how our lives had changed with all the new technology that’s been invented since our days at the old firm.  We marveled at the wonders of the internet and how it’s changed the way we do business.  In our wildest dreams back then, we never could have imagined the day when we would communicate by email instead of picking up a phone, when we could send each other forms at the click of a mouse, when a mouse was still a critter, when we no longer needed to dedicate entire rooms to a law library, when one time state of the art technology (like fax machines and copiers) would be outdated.  Hard to imagine how two old geezers like me and JT were even able to practice law back in the stone age.  Our kids still can’t figure out how we actually changed channels without a remote control!  (“Your TV had a dial?  A DIAL???”)

JT told me the biggest advantage to the new world of technology is that he’s able to save at least $150,000.00 a year by eliminating the need for a paralegal and a secretary.  At his law firm, they have a receptionist to answer the phone, one paralegal to do research, and a computer on every desk so the lawyers can prepare their own letters, documents and pleadings.  Gone are the days of dictation (Take a letter, Stella!), drafts, edits, redrafts, type, copy and mail.  Since I started in this business, I’m amazed at how adept attorneys have become at being self-sufficient.  Granted, that efficiency makes secretarial work nearly obsolete, but we no longer need elevator operators, bowling alley pinsetters or milkmen, either.  While technology and innovation have replaced those jobs, it has also created many, many more.  Times change, and you either have to keep up with the pace or get out of the way.

The biggest problem with our city government, and with most government entities, is it’s stuck on stupid.  People who run government refuse to admit that most jobs are just obsolete, and by utilizing the many technological advances that have been made in running a business, the government could be streamlined and made much more efficient.  As Phyllis said last night, we’d get “more bang for the buck.”

Scientists, however, have yet to invent technology to replace the people who inspect buildings, mow lawns, patrol neighborhoods, clean streets, pick up trash, wash windows, mop floors, answer phones and help customers who like to deal with real humans.  Or, as Janice Coakley calls them, the “little people.”  Yes, we need department heads to oversee and manage the work, and delegate the tasks, but without the “little people” to do the actual work, nothing would get done.  I hate to use an overworked term, but the truth is if the city balances the budget on the backs of the “little people,” we are all screwed.  And we don’t even get kissed.

While the residents of North Miami Beach really don’t want anyone to lose their jobs, the fact remains that the economy sucks and people are losing their jobs left and right.  Some of the employees are complaining that the reduction of the workforce has caused them to do the work of two or three people.  Welcome to the real world!  That’s been going on in the private sector for years, and those who can’t cut it have the option of either quitting and trying to find another job or being grateful they’re still employed.

It’s been my personal experience that many governments do not operate at the most efficient levels.  My dealings with some government agencies have been a nightmare.  For example, several years ago I had the misfortune of having to do some business with the Operation Center of the Miami-Dade Public School Board.  I walked into an office where three employees were sitting at their desks, literally playing solitaire on their computers and filing their nails.  One woman, who appeared to be the supervisor, had to help me with some forms.  Although I was the only customer for the two hours I was in that office, she was positively annoyed that I interrupted her by asking her to do something.  In fact, she tried every which way she could to find flaws in my paperwork so that she could go back to reading her novel instead of processing my request.  She kept shuffling and reshuffling through my documents, checking and rechecking every line, and was disgusted that she couldn’t find any mistakes.  Since I needed her assistance, it took every ounce of sheer willpower I could muster not to get in her face and tell her to move faster than glacial speed so I could get to work.  What I can tell you with absolute certainty is that I could have run that entire office by myself, and get whatever work that needed doing done in half the time.  This was a perfect example of bloated, top heavy, government.  There was absolutely no reason for that entire division to exist, in a stand alone building, much less have three employees.  It is my understanding that the new School Superintendent has since abolished that division.  Good riddance!

With all due respect to Janice Coakley, who would like to preserve as many jobs as possible, there are just some things that are done more efficiently and at a much cheaper cost.  Outsourcing utility billing is a perfect example of streamlining.  As was presented last night, there has been a significant savings to the city in terms of labor and postage by such outsourcing.

I have no doubt that some of the positions at the City of North Miami Beach can be eliminated due to the fact that they’re obsolete.  I also have no doubt that some employees are not working at the maximum level of efficiency, and could either stand to be given more responsibility or replaced with someone more capable.  This is true in every organization, not just government.  The difference is that in the private sector, employees have to prove their value on a daily basis or risk being fired.  Why should it be any different in government?  The bad economy is forcing the city to finally re-evaluate its entire workforce and move into the 21st century by utilizing the technological resources that modern science has afforded to us.

North Miami Beach, it’s time to get with the program.  If you don’t understand reality, then I have a problem with that.

Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”