Comments on: Simple, yet Welcome

By: MIke

MIke — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 14:23:34 +0000

Not giving a tax break to fantasy Island is like stealing candy from a baby. Hank, Crystal beach closed I bet you didnt see that one coming either. As long as Collins is fair across the board(not picking and choosing who he gives the breaks..ie AES). Lets see if he takes this hard line with that welfare queen ralph wilson, that will be the real test.

By: Russell

Russell — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 13:10:30 +0000

See what a difference it made actually waiting for the guy to get into office and take some action.

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:44:22 +0000

Rank and file employees can’t generate purchase orders to pad their existence either. They use whatever someone else has deemed necessary.

Service contracts - a main reason for updating perhaps?

Gorski started the surplus office auctions, I believe. Every unused item, large and small, was dragged out of offices and sold, some of which was close to qualifying for the Antique Roadshow. They don’t make equipment like they used to.

The fountain at the Botanical Gardens was dredged for the change people threw in there, and deposited. Now that’s penny-pinching.

By: Mike Walsh

Mike Walsh — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 04:17:14 +0000

I can’t speak for the last five years but all through the nineties and up to 2003 my company did a lot of work for the county. They didn’t buy too much new equipment and had service contracts on the old stuff. Keep in mind that this is all bidded out and they get a rock bottom price on everything. I declined to bid after 03 because everyone had lowballed bids and the older equipment was such a pain to maintain that their was no profitability in it.

Now, I’m sure certain departments with some influence may have been able to circumvent this and get whatever they wanted. Maybe that’s what Collins is targeting, and good for him. In general, though, rank and file employees are not sitting behind the latest and greatest high speed gaming computers to process invoices.

Now software, especially customized, may be a different story.

By: Joel

Joel — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:51:19 +0000

I do applaud the sense of fiscal responsibility on Collins’ behalf, but (and I expect to be pilloried on this point) from a behavioral standpoint, if someone is expected to use older/subpar office equipments\ (e.g. stained, broken, chipped) even if it is still technically serviceable, the performance you can expect from the average worker in the environment reflects that same subpar atmosphere. Similarly, a person entering that environment will perceive it to be subpar, thus perpetuating a spiral of “I am not cared about/why should I care about this client/this place does not care about what I think about this place”. A vicious circle. Respect begets respect, and I remind those wielding the Accountant’s Razor to think more critically about where the cut is placed and how much muscle is lost in the process. I’ve seen this in a financial services, private sector setting, so I can only imagine what it would be like in the public sector. The money spent on the veneer can pay dividends later on.

By: Joel

Joel — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:49:34 +0000

I do applaud the sense of fiscal responsibility on Collins’ behalf, but (and I expect to be pilloried on this point) from a behavioral standpoint, if someone is expected to use older/subpar office equipments\ (e.g. stained, broken, chipped) even if it is still technically serviceable, the performance you can expect from the average worker in the environment reflects that same subpar atmosphere. Similarly, a person entering that environment will perceive it to be subpar, thus perpetuating a spiral of I am not cared about/why should I care about this client/this place does not care about what I think about this splace. A vicious circle. Respect bespects respect, and I remind those wielding the Accountant’s Razor to think more critically about where the cut is placed and how much muscle is lost in the process. I’ve seen this in a financial serices private sector setting, so I can only imagine what it would be like in the public sector. The money spent on the veneer can pay dividends later on.

By: hank kaczmarek

hank kaczmarek — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 03:24:26 +0000

Some small moves, but they are indeed movements. And movement in a direction not taken by the county of Erie in quite a spell.

I was in the 1st run of the Fantasy Island Train on opening day of the park. Didn’t start school until after that summer was over. They were making a movie to publicize the place. It is indeed an institution, but after being around for 45 odd years I don’t see it going out of business without an 87K tax break from the County.

The computer I use at work is three months old. The one I use at home I bought in 2002. I did upgrade the box with a CD burner, but other than replacing a burnt hard drive for 95.00 and adding some memory, I can get along with it for a few more years before I get a new unit. I also have a printer/scanner fax that’s 4 years old and gets plenty of use. They can get along with what they have for awhile—so some county employee can’t download a web page at ass blinding speed.

A hopeful sign of change. He can’t change Albany, but he can do what he can to relieve the tax burden on the citizens, and it appears he’s looking to try.