City Personnel Controls

SUMMARY: Eliminates various positions within the City of Daytona Beach. In addition, in the next fiscal year following adoption of the Charter amendment, requires that the total number of full-time employees be reduced by 28%; provided that the number of law enforcement officers and firefighters employed at that time shall not be reduced.

Why Do We Need This Amendment?

Employees are the single largest cost of any business or government. We spend over $100,000 million dollars or half the city’s budget, on employees salaries, benefits and vehicles for their use. As of June 1st, 2007, Daytona Beach had over 1,100 city employees. That’s 200-300 more than comparable Florida cities with similar or larger populations.

Employee salaries aren’t the only issue. Benefits such as health insurance and pensions, add an additional 50% to total employee cost. If a city employee earns $50,000 in salary, they actually cost taxpayers $75,000 including benefits. If employees get a city vehicle, add another $11,000.

The easiest way for city management to make more money and ‘build their resume’ for their next promotion or job change, is by hiring extra employees they don’t really need. This increases their management and financial responsibility, which then allows them to demand more money. It’s a ‘shell game’ with the taxpayers footing the bill.

The city’s organizational chart is based on a ‘mechanistic’ 1960's management model with too many managers. There’s one Manager, Program Manager, Director, Deputy Director or Assistant Director for every three city employees! Corporate America averages eleven employees for every one in management. (Click here for the evidence).

Though our population hasn’t increased in ten years, there are nineteen senior staff Directors earning well over $100,000 on the city’s payroll. Even with that many well qualified senior managers, they still spend over $1.25 million annually on consultants to help them do their jobs. People earning this high level of income should be able to perform their job without hiring a consultant to assist.

There are better, more financially responsible ways to run our city government than the current methods utilized. Outsourcing some city services to the private sector and changing to a modern matrix management structure with employee cross training, would create a less costly more responsible and adaptive government, while reducing staff by as much as 35%. Limiting and linking salary increases to
cost of living changes and performance evaluations makes employees accountable and copies the way most regular businesses operate.No one likes to see people lose their job. However, it’s not taxpayers responsibility to guarantee lifetime employment for city personnel, especially when Daytona Beach has so many more employees than other Florida cities with the same or greater population. (See home page)
Almost all of us have lost a job at some point in our lives and had to find another, often relocating to a different city to live and work. There are 479 cities, counties, towns and villages in Florida that displaced Daytona city employees would be qualified to work for. Over 24,000 municipalities nationwide. Finding similar employment in an area with comparable cost of living to Daytona Beach will not be a problem for them.

(Click here to view proposed changes to charter)