It ain't over 'til it's over. - Yogi Berra
Waco
– Did the retired DPS trooper drive in a triple, or hit into a three-bag killing? Only time will tell, but it's one of those history-making events that signal vast rearrangements of power relations to come.
News of McLennan County Treasurer Danny Volcik's resignation
raced through the courts and offices, county barns and jails like the
roar of a crowd thrilled by the crack of the bat when a hitter poles
a line drive during a late inning.
Speculationis running rampant, but it's either a signal that the strong systemof control of McLennan County's funds and future by the County Judge,who is leaving on Sept. 30 after more than 20 years, or a paradigmshift to the quietly exerted authority of the District Judges, is infull swing.(click here for a previous report)
Along
with Mr. Volcik's resignation, the Commissioners Court is taking up
the employment status of Budget Director Adam Harry in its Executive
Session for personnel matters.
It's
the kind of game-changing excitement that makes people sit up and
take notice after the Seventh Inning Stretch, makes them stay until
it's over instead of getting in the car and beating the traffic out
of the ball park, making their getaway before the rush.
There
are two streams of controversy coursing through the dialogue. First,
there is the question of when and how much employees get paid.
The
Court first spent a fortune to revamp its payroll system to a 26-week
schedule in which overtime, sick time, holiday and vacation pay can
first be audited, then paid. The old system, which is based on a
28-week schedule, allows the Treasurer's office to first pay the
amount claimed on the time card, then audit the results.
Ifthere are errors, and there often are due to schedule changes,especially among the jail staff, and the employee leaves, the onlyway to recover the funds is through the complicated and expensiveremedy of seeking and obtaining a judgemnt through the court system.(click here for a previous report)
But
employees rose up and protested the new system. They claimed they
wouldn't be paid as much, though the truth is, they would be paid the
same amount on a yearly basis as their base pay.
In earlier dust-ups, the Court has relented and agreed to pay compensatory time claims, even when an employee and supervisor had previously attested to a pay period of straight time, no overtime worked.(click here.
In earlier dust-ups, the Court has relented and agreed to pay compensatory time claims, even when an employee and supervisor had previously attested to a pay period of straight time, no overtime worked.(click here.
The
Court elected to go their route and ordered a software systems
company to attempt to modify the new system, to make it work
according to the old schedule.
The
software engineers said they weren't sure it would work.
The
nasty rumor is that it won't work, after all, and the payroll for the
first pay period in October will not be done on time, or that it
won't be accurate – or something.
Lots of talk these days about a
financial crisis coming in October.
Mr.
Volcik was elected to his office on a 60/40 Republican over Democrat
split in 2010, replacing Democrat Bill Helton, a 20-plus year veteran
of the Treasurer's office.
Mr.
Helton's only sin: He's a Democrat.
County
employees, Democrats, and the public raised holy terror over Danny
Volcik taking office, saying that with no practical experience - Mr. Volcik is a retired DPS Trooper - the system would go to
wrack and ruin.
Mr.
Volcik responded on the air by saying he got his support by visiting public
political forums and asking people to vote for him – the old
fashioned way.
He
asked for the vote, in person.
And
then his first assistant resigned last week. He is to be replaced by
a Juvenile Probation officer, the hiring of whom caused an uproar on
the Court that was settled when County Judge Jim Lewis admonished one
member by saying, “He can hire whoever he wants.”
When
County Auditor Stan Chambers replaced Steve Moore, he was hired by
the District Judges, as prescribed by the Texas Constitution.
There was talk of transferring the payroll system to his office at thetime, but it would have prompted a constitutional crisis because thatinstrument demands that all funds must first be deposited, thendisbursed by the Treasurer's Office.(click here for a previous report)
There
is a remedy for that if a county seeks and gets special legislation
and perfects a Constitutional Amendment approved by the voters.
TEA
Party activists and liberals alike have voiced disapproval for the
system of budgeting various amounts, then seeking amendments and
budget transfers from such vague accouts as “Contingencies” to
cover shortfalls. In one case, $371,000 was transferred in part from
the retirement funds to cover outside care of inmates by a private
corporation that operates the Jack Harwell Detention Center and the
downtown jail.
His
job is on the line in the morning when the Court discussed in
Executive Session how to handle Brother Harry's future role.
The
Budget Director is selected and supervised by the Commissioners
Court; the County Auditor is selected and supervised by the District
Judges.
And then there's County Tax Assessor - Collector Buddy Skeen's non-jury trial before a District Judge, which is scheduled to take place next week.
It was one of the first discrepancies County Auditor Stan Chambers caught when he moved into his office.
He said, at the time, "I looked at that document, and I wasn't really sure I was reading what I saw correctly. I called my assistant into the office and asked her, 'Is this what I think it is? She said yes, and I picked up the phone and called the Texas Rangers Public Integrity Unit."(click here for a previous report)
Stay tuned. It's either the bottom of the 8th, or the top of the 9th.
The score? Who knows?
Hits, runs, errors? Too early to tell; too close to call.
- The Legendary
No comments:
Post a Comment