Larry the target maker
A city manager comes up with a figure of 500 jobs to eliminate from the City of Ottawa’s workforce. Larry O’Brien one day intimates that it might not be do-able with hiring freezes and attrition alone. And the next day he says he’d like to go for 1,000. He’s a target maker, he says.
But I’d say he’s more likely making something else.
I certainly believe Larry would like to throw a significant wrinkle into the lives of 1,000 city employees and their families. Why not? He campaigned on the no-proof-required myth of the lazy civil servant so certainly it makes sense that he plumps for his peeps.
But, hey, if it’s so darned efficient to get rid of people and replace them with computers, sign posts, door mats, whatever, why not 2,000? Or 10,000? Why not make it so that the City of Ottawa employs only a mayor and his entourage (you’ll need a few spares because they all seem to be moving over to the Provincial Tories).
Alex Cullen has it right. You can’t just get rid of 1,000 people and expect there to be no impact on city services. You can’t just throw around arbitrary, round numbers and expect people to think you know what you’re talking about.
If O’Brien is looking to come across as wreckless and mean, he’s doing well.
August 16th, 2007 at 12:00 am
how else will they pay for their job pay increases? ;)