2006-12-19 Cost of Government Commission Minutes

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Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to approve recommendations "1" through "5" for the Department of Environmental Management, Wastewater Division, with one wording change in "4," changing "children" to "heirs." Mr. Joseph seconded the motion, and all commissioners voted aye. The commissioners continued on to the recommendations for the Solid Waste Division on pages 6 through 8 of Draft 1. Ms. Provalenko said that recommendation "1" on page 6 should not use the term "additional clerical assistance" if there was not any assistance. The commissioners agreed that the word "additional" should be deleted. Ms. Nicholson said she would like to delete the last sentence under "B 1," which said the lack of clerical help added to an already difficult job. Ms. Noda suggested two changes on page 7, number 2. Instead of saying "practiced at" in the background /explanation, it should say "experienced in." The second change is to remove the apostrophes for plural CDLs. Mr. Joseph said it could be changed to say "do not need to possess a CDU' Mr. Joseph said that for recommendation number 5 on page 7, he did not feel it necessary to include the note that it would involve union negotiations, or that the unions were not receptive. Ms. Nicholson agreed. Motion and Vote: Ms. Nicholson moved to adopt the recommendations for the Solid Waste Division that began on page 6 of Draft 1 and continued on to page 8, with the changes as noted: eliminating the last sentence in "1," making the changes discussed in "2," and eliminating the last sentence in "5." Ms. Stremski seconded the motion, and all commissioners present voted aye. On page 8, recommendation "6," the Chair said that in the explanation, instead of saying "the vehicle should be gotten off the road sooner," they should say "the vehicle should be removed sooner." The others agreed. The commissioners continued on to the Finance Department on page 8. Mr. Joseph said the explanation for "A" did not seem to justify or go with the recommendation. Ms. Nicholson agreed. They discussed amending the wording. Mr. Joseph said they could not amend the wording of the recommendation itself, as they had agreed upon it at the previous meeting, but they could amend the explanation. Ms. Nicholson suggested the following wording: "It has come to the COGC's attention that many phone lines are being paid for which are not being used. Eliminating unused lines will save a lot of money." Ms. Nicholson questioned whether recommendations "A," "D," and possibly "C" under the Finance Department should actually be addressed to all departments. The Chair said he 10