A transportation project that’s supposed to be a city landmark, costing far more than it should? A boondoggle of multi-million dollar proportions, foisted off on an unsuspecting public by the people “who know mass transport?” Yep, Portland is having lots of fun constructing a simple mass transport option. (See 20061029.1400 entry.) More info here.

What I want to know is this: what the hell are they going to do whenever it storms? Cancel classes because the students can’t get from one campus to the other?

What I really want to know is this: Is there something about mass transit that makes its advocates stupid? Or is it the other way around?

Sometimes the city really pisses me off, it’s so damn dumb. Ask someone a direct question, and they don’t THINK about the answer, they just give you their idiotic misunderstood idea of what the answer was supposed to be. That’s how you end up putting the wrong phone number on a bazillion forms, and get a p.o.’d supervisor somewhere who’s wondering why his phone is ringing off the wall.

As for what’s really got me going right now, let’s just say that the city is cheap to the point of stupidity. “We don’t want you to spend $75 one time to do this properly. Use this other, totally inappropriate tool that can’t do the job. Why? Because someone said so. Never mind that they probably meant something else; what that person said was this and I’m not going to question orders from that high, even if they make no sense.” But he likes to run things like a business, after all.

Three guesses who I mean, and the first two don’t count.

The City of Houston is changing its payroll system for civilian (non-police, non-fire) employees, effective November 9th. Until now, all city employees have recieved bi-weekly paychecks, with police and fire department employees paid on one week, and all other employees paid on the other. After the change, checks will continue to be bi-weekly, but all employees will recieve their checks at the same time. The change is being made due to the implementation of SAP, though whether it is because the switch to the new system forced the change or merely allowed it is not clear.

This has frustrated a number of employees who were looking forward to December, during which the biweekly cycle would have resulted in three paychecks. Now, this won’t happen until March. In reality this is not as great a benefit as many claim, because the first and third paychecks go for monthly rent, while the second goes for other expenses. It’s more like the next month’s first paycheck arrives a bit early, and thus there’s no real benefit. However, changes to payroll are naturally greeted with suspicion in the city.

Old payroll schedule:
10/20
11/3
11/17
12/1
12/15
12/29
1/12/07

New payroll schecule
10/20
11/3
11/9 (one week’s pay)
11/22 (two week’s pay)
12/8
12/22
1/5/07

Deductions will change also, according to a memo from Judy Gray Johnson, Director of Finance and Admin. In the memo, distributed to employees this morning, it helpfully notes, “Some of you may find it useful to provide your creditors with a copy of this memo to work out a payment schedule for this time period.”

If that isn’t an acknowledgement we’re living hand-to-mouth, I don’t know what is.