To the editor,

Full time City Council? What ever happened to people doing what they are already paid to do rather than hiring other people to do it for them?

I never did see the Alexandria Times editorial dealing with the need for a full-time Council that ran in the paper December 18, 2008, but it seems that the person who wrote the article fails to appreciate the fact that the city manager and his office are responsible for the actions of city staff.

The taxpayers pay Jim Hartman and his deputy from $300,000 – $400,000 per year (not including benefits or the salaries of other people in the office) to ensure that staff provides timely and accurate performance. The letter you published by Joseph Schramm is spot on we need to address the issue where the problem lies rather than paying additional people to do the things we are already paying city staff to do. The few times I have been in City Hall I have seen a number of people who probably are not fully employed, which suggests that there are some efficiencies that can be realized with a thorough scrub of the roles and responsibilities of the city government. We need a comprehensive review of all city programs with the idea of reducing numbers of employees and we need to have responsible individuals held accountable for their actions (or inactions) as the case may be.

– Micheline Eyraud