Imagine my surprise this morning to open my Dallas Express app on my phone and read a story about an interview with our Mayor and City Manager on how Odessa is reforming its operations to focus on providing us residents with essential services.
How about this, they want to reinvest in our infrastructure and get back to basics! Supposedly, they launched a task force in December led by our new city manager to analyze ways municipal government can improve efficiency. The task force includes managers and directors with experience in audits, finance, risk management and communications.
Question, why haven’t we heard about this and how effective will it be if we keep losing all our top managers? The article touts the new city manager, Mr. Beckmeyer being unanimously given the job last year and how he was the Chairman of the State Republican Party like that qualifies him to run a city but not how the council failed to follow their own guidelines in hiring him after paying over $350,000 to a consulting firm.
They mention probably doing away with the Events Planning department as a cost-saving measure but fail to mention the $50 million sports complex being built.
Question, How are they going to promote it without a planning department?
The most laughable part of the article is the mayor talking about the lack of transparency in some of the programs when we read about them in the OA all the time.
If there is a lack of transparency, it is coming from the city.
My final question, why did I have to read this in a Dallas news outlet rather than in my own local paper? I know there are ill feeling between the city and the OA, but that is no excuse for us citizens not to know what is going on. I would encourage everyone to go online and read the Dallas Express article if you need a good laugh.
Charles Cotten
Odessa
