E-mail from staff

Subject: Vehicle reduction plan

So now our wonderful Mayor in order to show the public to what lengths he is willing to go to help the City's budget deficit woes has directed his staff to give up their City vehicles.

This directive has now been extended to ITA which has been told to reduce it's fleet by 10%. Never mind that the largest pool of vehicles in ITA is used to service mission critical public safety communications, never mind the fact the vehicles are used daily to service the City's network and communications infrastructure, support it's business needs, it's ability to generate revenue and collect taxes, etc., without such support the City would cease to function. So never mind, cut your vehicle pool by 10% across the board without regard to operational needs. Make your sacrifice like his Honor and his staff.

What possible savings can be realized from such a boneheaded plan? The vehicles in question are not perks used for convenience sake, but essential transportation for mission critical communications support. Will Bureau of Sanitation be asked to reduce it's fleet of trash trucks by 10%? Or will LAPD and LAFD be told to reduce their patrol cars and fire trucks by 10%? The public wouldn't put up with having to wait for emergency responders at the scene of a crime or fire, or suffer delays in having trash collected from the City streets, so why put the public at risk by reducing field service vehicles supporting public safety communications?

The management in our department and the leadership in this City is asleep at the wheel.