It's no wonder that Staff is turning over and people have resigned. The Utility is the place where millions get spent and millions get wasted.
The Utilities Warehouse controls stock items for the Electric, Operations General, Water & Sewer, and Power Plant Divisions. The material value on hand at the end of FY 2011 totals $5,440,428.75 and is broken down as:
Electric $4,542,228.64
General 38,729.80
Water & Sewer 114,252.44
Power Plant 745,217.87
Tonight, the City is asking the commission to approve writing off $1,350,000 just like it was nothing. The City hopes to get back less than 50 cents on the dollar. It will also be approving nearly $370 thousand in new services, parts and a membership fee to FMEA for Lake Worth Utilities. Lake Worth utilities is and has always been the black hole. This is where large amounts of money are approved, moved around and no one has a handle on any of it. All commissions, without fail, approve of everything when it comes before them from the utility. As Bill Coakley, former Electric Utility Task Force Chairman, would say, you have to put the cash into play before you can steal it.
These supplies have been described as no longer having any use to the City, including obsolete supplies, scrap materials, and supplies that have completed their useful life cycle.The stock items for disposal have resulted from years of decision making processes that were not driven by data and standard specifications. We bought lots of stuff that we never used and allowed it all to sit there obsolescing. Part of the problem was a past commission that made BIG mistakes when it came to our Utility when it approved the 26kv upgrade. This horrendously bad and failed decision has already cost us millions.
This first cut of items totals in excess of $1,350,000. The City says, "It is anticipated that as business practices improve and standard operating procedures are implemented, the on-hand needs will further reduce thereby eliminating the need to outlay excess funds for warehouse stock."
The biggest expense on the list is 155, 100 KVA, 26KV transformer poles that cost us $348,929.80.
Will situations such as this EVER end in Lake Worth?
I know this is probably a silly question but can't the Scrap if its metal be sold to a scrap metal dealer, the poles and other items can they not be sold to another company that might still need them? Has any effort been put forth for such an action so that we are not just writing the items off but at least getting something for them?
ReplyDeleteSurplus inventory happens in every business venture. The key is how to plan, exeute and control your warehousing and inventory. Personal observation in Lake Worth
ReplyDeleteAdministration is that there is no accountability for performance. Fiancial responsibility is a big part of the executive BUNCH that runs LW, but they always have known that there will be no consequence as a result their poor performance. The Institute for Supply Management trains people on how to run warehouses, purchasing and inventory control, the city of Lake Worth could care less about this organization. Good inventory management calls for ongoing monitoring of inventory, and understanding how much to have on hand to handle emergencies and such. Yet another black hole to dump dollars in.
Remember Lynn , when I said we couldn't paint the beach. Did anyone really thing we could operate a well run utility company.
ReplyDeleteLOL, John. For some reason, I always laugh out loud at that one. It is still funny and true. :)
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