Why did this take 10 years?

In February's Manager's Report to the city council,
city manager John Archocosky wrote about the
Department of Public Works (DPW):

"I have also asked that they begin evaluating
equipment that is no longer needed or used by the
City, so it might be placed up for auction. By selling
the unused items, I believe we can consolidate the
remaining items into fewer storage areas, and
therefore can sell the storage buildings that we will
no longer need. This will result in less insurance
and maintenance costs for the City. Further, once
the buildings are sold, they can then be placed on
the tax roll.

"The City crew has also begun to downsize through
attrition, and therefore we no longer have need or
use for some of the older plow trucks, pickups,
and other equipment we acquired through the
consolidation of the three communities in 2000. I
have been meeting with our DPW foreman Dick
Anderson, and our head mechanic Ed Rauterkus
to develop a plan whereby the City can eliminate
some of those unnecessary items, and as with the
buildings, will result in an overall savings. By selling
several of the older pieces of equipment, we will be
able to use the proceeds to make some upgrades
and still reduce the overall size of the fleet. I will be
reviewing this plan with the Council in the near
future, and hope to receive your approval to move
forward with a sale process very soon."

Why has it taken 10 years for the city to begin the
steps to consolidate equipment and services? If
the DPW can get by with less equipment and
fewer personnel, what have those persons been
doing for the past ten years that is of benefit to
the taxpayers?

The March 2010 manager's report provides us
with the results of the auction:

"Following last month’s approval by the Council,
the City DPW has been working on the plan to
eliminate excess equipment and to consolidate the
remaining assets and inventory into fewer locations.
By doing so, I anticipate that the City will be able to
sell two or three of its current storage facilities,
saving both on maintenance and insurance costs.
Further, when these properties are sold, the real
estate can be placed on the tax roll. The recent
auction that was conducted for the City by Nitke
Auctions produced about $14,000 in sales of
equipment that no longer was of use to our DPW.
The miscellaneous revenue that was generated by
the auction will be reinvested in upgrades and
repairs to our existing fleet."

Spring cleaning should be an annual event, no?

Bill Vajk