In 2011, the City spent $3.4 million on overtime. Wichita spent $706,343 in payroll on gardeners and $822,037 on tree maintenance workers (5 supervisors for 15 workers). Did you know the City employs a Tennis Pro for $93,972? Add about 35% to each of those numbers for payroll tax and benefits. Details are at available at
KansasOpenGov.org
I seriously doubt that we need a Tennis Pro on the city payroll; gardening and tree maintenance are classic examples of things that can be provided by the private sector at lower costs (remember the $1 million or so saved by privatizing parks maintenance?).
It took me about 15 minutes to find these few examples. Why is City Council and staff agonizing over closing a 0.4% budget gap? Sounds like we are being set up for a tax increase.