City workers 'pick up' overtime
JANESVILLE — Janesville City Council President Bill Truman was surprised to hear city workers would again be paid overtime at an average of $39 an hour to work at this year's large-item pickup.
Truman said he thought the council last October had deleted $6,000 for this year's pickup after he protested about the cost last year. Another council member, George Brunner, also remembered a vote had been taken and the money deleted from the budget.
And, the Gazette article written after the meeting noted the money would be removed.
This year's pickup was Saturday, and Truman learned a month or so ago that the money still would be paid to city workers. He met with city officials to ask why.
City Manager Eric Levitt was not in Janesville during last year's budget discussions.
"All we could find was a note that he'd brought it up," Levitt said Monday. "We didn't find that there'd actually been any action on it."
City officials told Truman then that they wouldn't proceed with Saturday's pickup without his blessings.
Truman said Monday he gave the OK because he wanted the event to continue for this fifth and last year and because it is so well liked by Fourth Ward residents. Truman is a founder of the event.
Truman didn't work at this year's pickup because he had family business.
There is no pickup scheduled next year because fewer and fewer items have been picked up over the years.
If it is reinstituted in 2011 on a biannual basis, Truman said he'd like the event to return to its beginnings.
The first two years, volunteers worked with private businesses that charged a reduced rate to help with hauling, Truman recalled.
But organizers didn't line up the businesses in time the third year, and the pickup did not go as smoothly. The fourth year, the city offered city workers.
Truman said at that time many thought the 22 or so workers were volunteers. But some of the city workers told volunteers they were getting paid time-and-a-half.
"How would you feel if you were a volunteer?" Truman asked.
Two business owners have recently contacted him, he said.
"All of the sudden, they're not involved in it and we are paying city workers time-and-a half," he said.
Truman said the program has been a success because it cleaned up the inner city and united business owners and neighbors, he said.
He'd like to see a large-item pickup in the future be citywide. He said that makes sense, especially because the city last year budgeted for the event from the general fund rather than federal block grant money.
Some communities schedule pickups once or twice a year, and residents from other neighborhoods have asked Truman why they can't benefit. Workers could pick up items on regular trash day, he said.
Oct 22, 2009 at 9:58 a.m.
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City Council President Bill Truman has to keep the budget in mind, but neighbor Bill Truman has too big of a heart to to say no when there is such a need in the neighborhood. I know that there are a lot of Janesville residents that think Bill is only doing good in his neighborhood, but Bill is doing good for all of Janesville as city council president and he is a wonderful example for all of Janesville to see how great a neighborhood can be when neighbors help neighbors. Thanks again Bill for all you do for the city of Janesville and our neighborhood.
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:53 p.m.
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Bill truman could have stopped the whole thing with a simple NO it's not in the budget!!!
"City officials told Truman then that they wouldn't proceed with Saturday's pickup without his blessings".
Truman said Monday he gave the OK because he wanted the event to continue for this fifth and last year and because it is so well liked by Fourth Ward residents. Truman is a founder of the event.
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:44 p.m.
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By the way my family does not live off of you, we bought a beautiful old home and we are fixing it up because we love the history, we didn't move to the 4th ward to get free food and clothes, and live off welfare. We provide for ourselves and help our neighbors, just like Bill and Jackie have shown us all to do.
Oct 21, 2009 at 4:31 p.m.
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Those of us lucky enough to live in the old 4th ward are thankful to have Bill Truman living in our neighborhood. People complain because he decided to help his neighbors. Bill Truman is proud of our neighborhood and is a caring neighbor, he started this in his neighborhood, instead of all this whinning about it not being city wide why don't some of you get off your butts and start something like this in your neighborhood! It is not a city event, it is a neighbor helping neighbor event, anybody could do it. If you call Bill Truman he would probably be more than happy to tell you how you can get something going in your area. As for the 4th ward, we love having Bill and Jackie Truman as our neighbors, they are people you can count on to be a helping hand to anybody that needs it. Thanks for everything you do for us Bill and Jackie, the 4th ward appreciates you.
Oct 11, 2009 at 6:41 p.m.
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Let's see -- I'm betting we give a considerable number of the people who live in these neighborhoods a substantial portion of free food, free clothes, rent support, needle exchanges, free furniture (according to your own recent article), discounted phone and cell phone access, welfare, child care money, SSI, etc., and somehow many of them find money for cigarettes, booze and drugs ... and then we have to go and pick up their neighborhoods because they're too lazy -- or too "proud" -- to do it themselves! Looks like just another free entitlement.
City-wide pickup on by wards/sections on regular trash days with staggered weeks, or none at all.
Oct 7, 2009 at 4:15 p.m.
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Beyond the use of unallocated funds to pay for the city workers in this instance, the bigger question involves the process. What kind of worthless system of checks and balances is the council employing here? How is it possible that a vote on this matter can be taken, the funding rejected, and yet the event still takes place without the right people knowing about it? That's the question that should bother taxpayers the most. It appears the council is focusing on if and when the large item pickup will resume, when the real matter of how this all slipped through the cracks is what's most important. Give the citizens of Janesville some peace of mind this was an anomaly and not some kind of systemic flaw in how things are handled at City Hall.
Oct 7, 2009 at 2:58 p.m.
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This saddens me. This was a community volunteer effort. This event cannot function to the level that it does, without the help of the City workers and let's not forget those people who gave up time with their families to plan and organize this this function as well as to volunteer. I think this negativity has brought down the positive reason why we involve ourselves in such community projects. Can we find the good in what was accomplished? And maybe we could have reported more positively instead of focusing so much on a stuffed animal.
Oct 7, 2009 at 12:02 p.m.
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If you are replying to me when you say keep my agenda to myself, I know there are people out there that are just too grumpy to help out.....
Oct 7, 2009 at 11:43 a.m.
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Good for you--Don't push your agenda on others
Oct 7, 2009 at 11:37 a.m.
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I put in a full week of work & still volunteered my time. It is a matter of taking pride in our community. No I don't live in the fourth ward, but it is still nice to make things look better.
Oct 7, 2009 at 11:08 a.m.
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luvinlife, the 1985 Fair Labor Standards Act prohibits it except under limited circumstances. As I noted earlier, this protects employees from being coerced to work more hours than they are paid.
http://www.dol.gov/elaws/esa/flsa/scope/...
Oct 7, 2009 at 10:21 a.m.
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Get real--why should a city employee volunteer for someone Else's pet project that benefits a select few , they already put there time in for the week.
Oct 7, 2009 at 8:49 a.m.
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I think the point here is lots of people volunteered to do this project. Myself included. The city workers earning money is the problem. Why didn't they volunteer their time? The city could pay for the trucks & fuel alone.
Oct 7, 2009 at 5:17 a.m.
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Sannio . . . I agree. Bill Truman does a lot of good things and his focus on the neighborhood is commendable.
Oct 7, 2009 at 1:37 a.m.
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Truman started this project before he was elected to city council. It has been endorsed by a majority of council members every year. And yes, if the council removes something from the budget, by city charter that spending is not supposed to happen. The city management is subordinate to the council and should have followed its direction.
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City workers are necessary for the project because it's city-administered federal money and city facilities (like the dump) are used. It would be great if it were an all-volunteer program, but that's not realistic at this scale.
Oct 7, 2009 at 12:15 a.m.
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That mattress looks like it has some miles left,what street is that stuff on???? LOL
Oct 6, 2009 at 11:06 p.m.
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Im sorry....I apologize to the rest of you for encouraging Pete, but I couldn't resist.
Oct 6, 2009 at 10:48 p.m.
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Good for you Pete....go get em buddy.
Oct 6, 2009 at 10:47 p.m.
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Pete - You are so smart. I think I'm falling in love with you.
Oct 6, 2009 at 10:15 p.m.
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Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Bill truman from the 4th ward? Truman founded this 4th ward clean-up. All of Janesville payes for it though. What about the other neighborhoods Bill? Will you show up to help them?
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:46 p.m.
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Did Levitt or any of our council members volunteer for this civic project?
Just wonderin'
Oct 6, 2009 at 9:36 p.m.
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Then you'd better move Pete...'cause it aint gonna happen here.
Oct 6, 2009 at 8:07 p.m.
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Why couldn't Mayor Bill take care of his personal duties during the week. He doesn't work like the city workers who he expects to "donate" their time.
Oct 6, 2009 at 7:44 p.m.
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These few comments show exactly why the city of Janesville is doomed to be a second class city.
The well to do business people have previously shown their greed... and now the the other end
has shown their petty greed also.
Oct 6, 2009 at 6:57 p.m.
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another fine job by our city council, the righthand doesnt know what the lefthand is doing!
Oct 6, 2009 at 6:24 p.m.
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They are not requierd to use comp/flex time. Maybe just have the people in those neighborhoods responsible for themselves, like the rest of the city (there are elderly in all neighborhoods)
Oct 6, 2009 at 5:48 p.m.
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I think Bill Truman does a lot of things for this community. He's quite amazing in that regard.
Oct 6, 2009 at 5:14 p.m.
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Mr Truman,
Get a clue! Just because you remove something from the budget like money to pay for the labor of the program YOU spearheaded does not make it free. People even city workers have to feed their famlies and pay their bills. It continues to baffle me when the budgets get cut but we still keep adding tasks and commitments to the public agenda and you folks go away patting yourselves on the back about your ability to "work out" the budget problems when all you really did was sweep the issue under the rug. Not filling positions when workers retire or leave the city is another silly budgeting trick. That simply means in a department with 5 people everyone in the department must do 20% more work OR that 20% of the work will not get done and at the same time eliminating Cost of Living adjustments, that makes it more work for less money or a PAY CUT! now you expect employees to work on YOUR project for FREE while you are busy on family business. What about my family business like football with my son or soccer with my daughter or mowing my lawn or other such nonsense!
Thanks Bill Truman you are a real upstanding fellow.
Oct 6, 2009 at 4:44 p.m.
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Well, the point is that it was specifically addressed in a budget session. The department should have ensured they used comp/flex time instead given the council's direct attention on the matter.
Oct 6, 2009 at 4:18 p.m.
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You mean City employees got paid for . . . for . . . for working? Oh my gosh (heh)!! What a travesty. I want a full investigation as to why these employees were compensated for doing their job!
This is news?????
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