City Is Laying Off 500 Workers - But Has Money To Make Council Chamber Bulletproof.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

Amusing....

So they think there might be consequences to their actions maybe?

I say keep the extra workers who's salary could be paid with that $330,000 and deal with the consequences of being a person in power possibly.

-------------------

First off: Dallas will trim 500 jobs to save money

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/071410-city-hall-gets-bulletproof-facelift

DALLAS - The cavernous Dallas City Council chamber is getting a facelift. But the $330,000 renovation is no ordinary project. It’s one designed to save lives.

The chamber is current cloaked in plastic sheets. The podium, the seats and even the walls are protected from damage as improvements in security are made.

The area where council members, the mayor and city staffers sit, known as the horseshoe, will be made ironclad, buttressed and impregnable.

A new wall with steel reinforcements is going up. It will allow for a quick escape to a secured room during an emergency.

And, bulletproof material has been installed in strategic areas.

Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway said the project was approved this past February.

City officials began considering it after a gunman stormed a city council meeting in a small Missouri town. Five people ended up dead before police killed the suspect in a shootout.

“It’s a responsibility we have at City Hall to keep it safe,” Caraway said. “In the environment where people come and express dissatisfaction and are sometimes disgruntled, you want to make sure you have the necessary precautions in place.”

In related news, the city of Dallas laid off about 500 employees Tuesday to help balance the budget next year's budget.

City Manager Mary Suhm recommended letting the part-time library and parks department employees go. That’s in addition to more furloughs, pay cuts and fee hikes.

Caraway said tough economic times call for tough measures.

“We can’t continue to cut. We can’t continue to layoff. We can’t continue to furlough. We can’t continue to hike up the fees and not consider raising taxes on the table,” he said.

[^_^ 5,021]

City officials began considering it after a gunman stormed a city council meeting in a small Missouri town.

[tallcoolone 102]

If you don't anything about Dallas. The police and city council is full of corruption, and for years the headlines are about Police Chief or City Council members being arrested and on trail for corruption. It is a very fvcked up city.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022710dnmetcityhalltrial.15630bb61.html

[Obama 2012 1,714]

If you don't anything about Dallas. The police and city council is full of corruption, and for years the headlines are about Police Chief or City Council members being arrested and on trail for corruption. It is a very fvcked up city.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/022710dnmetcityhalltrial.15630bb61.html

there's plenty of reasons why the only time I get over to Dallas is to watch Mavs and Stars' games...

Dallas has had their issues all my life. It's kind of sad really...

[IndigoSkies 168]

500 workers * $30,000 average salary = 15,000,000 * 12 months = $180,000,000. Let's be really conservative and say that 500 people are played $5 millions a year. Still a huge saving compared to onetime renovation cost of even $1 million.

[Obama 2012 1,714]

500 workers * $30,000 average salary = 15,000,000 * 12 months = $180,000,000. Let's be really conservative and say that 500 people are played $5 millions a year. Still a huge saving compared to onetime renovation cost of even $1 million.

The point is when your city has a budget defecit like Dallas does, how can you justify spending that money on something like this when you'd rather lay off the workers. Even if they could save 7 or 8 jobs there vs. making the council bulletproof? Cmon now....

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

I say....

Lay off the deadwood, give back the money to the taxpayers for the bullet-proof chamber and if the council members can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The point is when your city has a budget defecit like Dallas does, how can you justify spending that money on something like this when you'd rather lay off the workers. Even if they could save 7 or 8 jobs there vs. making the council bulletproof? Cmon now....

The bigger point is...

Why is one of the most prosperous and growing cities in the country so far in debt?

[justashooter 430]

in pennsylvania i can wear a handgun into a city council meeting in most jurisdictions, as they are not housed in courthouses. i have never done so, but know people who have.

i see this as another step down the stairway from 1st world to 3rd world. let's face it, folks. 3rd world immigrants leaching on our system are driving the standard of living down in USA, as are H1B contractors. competition with foreign developing economies is also forcing a "redistribution of wealth" that the current administration is facilitating. it's just a matter of time till it all goes to hell in a handbasket, except for those of us who live far enough out and are resourceful enough to stay on top.