JOHN PERKINS
Contributing Columnist
Ahead of Tuesday’s Shreveport City Council meeting, the council’s Audit and Finance Committee met to hear reports on recent audits. If, like me, this is the stuff that you live for, you can find the meeting on Facebook’s Shreveport Government page -- a modern convenience that has allowed me to keep up with Shreveport even when I was in a hospital bed in Minden, L.
First up was Department of Water and Sewerage head William Daniel. Reporting to the two members of the committee present, Councilman Nickelson and Councilman Boucher, Mr. Daniel gave an update on the ongoing discussions with U.S. Department of Justice and Environmental Protection Agency and negotiations regarding amending the consent decree to better address pressing issues rather than simply repair every defect in the wastewater management system. The original cost estimate for the consent decree was around $300 million, and it is clear to some that the final cost will be closer to $1 billion, but a $2 billion final cost is talked about by some with expertise and knowledge of the system. This would mean raising more money, and council members present strongly expressed the need to hold down costs so that water and sewer customers in Shreveport do not see more burdensome rate increases. Amen.
Next up, Shreveport Parks and Recreation’s (SPAR) report, which was troubling to hear. We need to update old computer systems for work orders and to allow analysis, such as how often are repairs being done to specific equipment. The state of our parks in Shreveport has been poor for some time, and it was disappointing to learn that we simply can’t find people to do the work in the parks. Right now, there is only one crew mowing. That one crew works seven days a week mowing even in the rain. If you are looking for $10 an hour starting pay, SPAR is looking to hire you today. They are offering 12-hour days Monday through Friday along with six hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Lots of overtime. What about using private contractors to do some of the work? Private contractors are having trouble recruiting and retaining crews, too. Could everyone be holding out for Amazon and $15/hour?
One other troubling report came from Fire Chief Scott Wolverton. Response times are down right now, and Chief Wolverton reported that is because of “our aging apparatus fleet.” Our fire trucks are old, in other words. Some are so old that they should be serving only as backup while others shouldn’t even be used as backup apparatus. This week, Engine 1 went down on Saturday. There was no backup for Engine 1, so Engine 2 was moved to Station 1, and without a backup, Station 2 was closed for this week. Station 2 covers a large area of North Shreveport. Recently, Engine 12 was down for five days. We are taxed enough already, but here comes a new bond issue. Let me know what you think: PerkWrites@gmail.com