Contractor Gets City Employee Raise

  Rafael Castillo has a Professional Service Contract, signed in 2013 which details in 6 pages said contract/agreement.  It spells out his compensation to take effect each July.  The contract expires June 30, 2016.
  Last month Council changed the contract, changing the 4 months severance pay to 6 months pay plus other changes which are not included in the included contract.

  According to many sources this is Illegal.  You can not hire a Contractor by Contract, then proceed to give that person pay raises as if a City Employee.  IRS says the individual is either a Contractor or an Employee.  Not both!

 

Outrageous Fleecing in Windcrest?

Nov 5, 2015 Windcrest City Council hired a Municipal Finance Director (MFO) at $4261.89 per month for working 24 hours per week.  The sum includes $586 for City Employee Health Insurance plan so said Jim Shelton, but he did not mention the additional $4,400.  Why?

Now Windcrest citizens should be outraged because the MFO also qualifies to receive additional benefits from the City funded Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) to the tune of over $4,000, ($4,400 I think) but that little fact was not addressed by the motion as approved by council on Nov 5, 2015.  The two 'Lame Duck Poster Guys' helped ram this thru over the objections of many, which should also infuriate Windcrest Citizens.  The HSA is taxpayer money used to reimburse employees for medical costs, not Contractors!

 For years Windcrest has had a full time Finance Director or Municipal Finance Officer working 40 hrs a week as most cities have.  But Sarah has convinced council she can perform all the Finance dept duties in only 24 hours.  

  Sarah Mangham, until now was a Contractor (ETR Government Services) @ 30 hours per week.  Then she agreed to work some additional hours each month in exchange for City Employee Health benefits.  Windcrest hired ETR Government Services to perform financial duties, then treats owner Sarah Mangham as an employee and gives her health benefits and over $4,000 in reimbursable medical costs thru the HSA. Something about this does not pass the smell test.

  Back in 2012 when the City initially funded the Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) for Windcrest employees, it is a well deserved Perk for Windcrest full time employees.

  Sarah Mangham then briefed a  resolution indicating employees receiving City Employee Health Benefits would be included on the HRA. ( Note, no reference to full time employees.) Initially it was $2100 per employee, now $4,400, which was a well deserved perk for Windcrest full time employees.  Contractors should NOT be receiving this perk at all!

   Nov 5, 2015, Council reduced her hours to 24 hours per week.  But she still received City Employee Health Benefits AND the $4,000 plus HRA.  All of this and Sarah is paid $4261.89 per month.  Or will the city pay ETR Government Services, who knows.  

$261,000 for Sidewalks!! YIKES!

  Windcrest council voted to approve the expenditure of $250,000 for sidewalks on Thursday Nov 5 council meeting.  Why do we have a Public Works dept?   Council person Pam Dodson suggested our Public Works dept could construct the new sidewalks for much less.  Lets face it, the Public Works dept should be renamed to Grass and Landscaping dept, which more accurately describes their actual duties.  Public Works during the past administrations performed Crack Filling on the streets of Windcrest.  The engineering firm hired years when this administration began, stated during a council presentation that the #1 preventive maintenance program was Crack Filling!  He commented that Windcrest had been doing an excellent job with Crack Filling which preserves the road base and make future repairs less costly.  Then this administration scrapped Crack Filling Program by Public Works entirely.  It seems higher priorities, like flowers planting and landscaping were suggested.    You have to remember, the Mayor hired the golf course manager (they know grasses) as the Public Works Director.  He immediately had the crack filling machine declared unfit and the Crack Filling Program was halted completely.  There had been NO crack filling for the past several years then last month a Contractor was hired to start crack filling.  Have you noticed the condition of the streets in Windcrest?  Too little too late.  Just wait until the road repair estimates come in, they will be horrendous because much of the road base has been destroyed by the lack of a Crack Filling program.

  Now your tax dollars, all $260,000 is being used to replace the sidewalks around two ponds.  Again, not by Public Works, but a Contract which was not released to a bid.

Brook Falls Pond Sidewalks        $123,533.16
Autumn Sunset Pond Sidewalks  $137,866.08

   Total                                          $261,399.24

To be fair, this cost also includes some lighting and benches along the sidewalks.

Note:  This expenditure was shoved thru by the current council before the newly elected council persons take office.  Maybe the new council can stop the bleeding and rescind these two resolutions and let Public Works Dept, Work!

Committee Report- Not

 After the Water District elections last year one of the first things Ms. Alexander motioned to create was a Committee of two board members to meet with two City Council members to foster an improved working relationship.
  The Water District Board of Directors selected their two members: Ms Alexander and board pres Dan Reese.  To date, which is nearly one year since she made the motion, there has not been one meeting between the two committees.  Tomy knowledge, the City has never named two council members to meet with the Water District Committee, but you can be sure the Mayor would be one.
 Why have these two committees met?  Ms Alexander professed a lack of cooperation when running election to the Water Board, then she followed up by getting a committee formed.  It appears that was a complete waste of time and effort, the committees have never met.

  These committees need to make a full report to their respective boards as to the progress, or lack of progress made during the past year!

  Another recent blogger reported the City council approved amendments to a contract which had not been agreed to by the two managers.  The Mayor is already building a platform for next years elections.

 Windcrest purchased 10+ acre feet of water rights for the ponds.  Mayor Baxter said during a council meeting those 10+ acre feet cost the city some $70,000 and when the purchase was complete those water rights would be turned over to the Water District.  That has not happened folks.  Council has been silent on the subject since the purchase was completed several months ago.  Why?