EM spends $5M on consultants

[Zacha341]

Hah, I give up or shall I say 'give in'. I am ready to attached to the cash cow on life-support if possible. Can someone submit my name for consultant staff 'support'! Surely the smart-folks-in-the-room will be in need of some document formatting, image, digital video/ web file management, phone call shielding, and a few power point presentations? And someone to go get the pizza or Chinese takeaway for those late night brain storming sessions... maybe even some 'Photoshop' wonders...

I already work multiple jobs to attempt to make ends meet. Why not one more... My contact info is zachablahdeblah@..........

[Wesley Mouch]

i thought he was the consultant

Nah, he's the doer.

[Locke09]

Consultants for the City rely primarily on data provided by City employees [[since the consultants don't have access to actually pore through the records - electronic or paper - themselves). They need City employees to explain the data to them, especially electronic data. They interview City employees and hold meetings with the employees who have knowledge about the organization and its issues. Then they report primarly what the employees told them as something they "discovered".

Very often consultants are brought in and paid to justify a position employees already told management they should take.

A good consultant is one that brings its own information and ideas to the table, to enhance what the organization already knows. But those are few and far between when dealing with the City. It is a complex organization consisting of multiple "industries".

They will have earned their money if they come up with something that no one had already thought of, or that no one internally could have implemented themselves.

[Honky Tonk]

Hah, I give up or shall I say 'give in'. I am ready to attached to the cash cow on life-support if possible. Can someone submit my name for consultant staff 'support'! Surely the smart-folks-in-the-room will be in need of some document formatting, image, digital video/ web file management, phone call shielding, and a few power point presentations? And someone to go get the pizza or Chinese takeaway for those late night brain storming sessions... maybe even some 'Photoshop' wonders...

I already work multiple jobs to attempt to make ends meet. Why not one more... My contact info is zachablahdeblah@..........

As long as it's Little Ceasar's "Detroit Style" pizza, you're in! Now get me a coffee.....

[Wesley Mouch]

<snip>
They will have earned their money if they come up with something that no one had already thought of, or that no one internally could have implemented themselves.

Or if they do something that is politically difficult for a permanent staffer to do. There's less peer pressure on outsiders.

I would suspect that there's a lot of peer pressure from existing staff to continue doing things as they've been done before. Outsiders are free from pressure from current bosses, union bosses, and activists.

Organizational culture is a very hard thing to change. Its probably the biggest challenge Mr. Orr has.

[iheartthed]

This will be a jackpot for consultants. The city has accountants and lawyers on staff yet we need to hire from the outside and pay $200 an hour. It doesn't make fiscal sense. More government welfare to the private sector.

I highly doubt the city of Detroit employs a single person who is an expert on financial reorganization.

[Zacha341]

Let's talk about my rate first! I get paid for admin support services including Starbuck runs........

As long as it's Little Ceasar's "Detroit Style" pizza, you're in! Now get me a coffee.....

[Zacha341]

Isn't everyone....? Just strap on the LLC and you're good to go in the D...

i thought he was the consultant

[Zacha341]

Yeah, but 'government welfare' cheese has more cheddar added with a bit of blue for the smell...

This will be a jackpot for consultants. The city has accountants and lawyers on staff yet we need to hire from the outside and pay $200 an hour. It doesn't make fiscal sense. More government welfare to the private sector.

[Honky Tonk]

Yeah, but 'government welfare' cheese has more cheddar added with a bit of blue for the smell...

I don't what you smell is "the blue"....

[Zacha341]

It is the smell of corruption, continued............

[Zacha341]

True, but we've experienced Ph.d's levels of financial 'diversions' with vast friends and family spread sheets and flow charts. No. Not too smart there either...... too many people started talkin... too many moving parts.

I highly doubt the city of Detroit employs a single person who is an expert on financial reorganization.

[downtownguy]

A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it.

[Wesley Mouch]

A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it.

You've hit it on the head there.

The need for consultants was created by the proliferation of regulation and laws. Once, a reasonable person could run a company or a city, and know most of what needed to be done. Today, you need a specialist is so many areas. HR, taxes, environmental, diversity, and on and on.

Let's say we reduce the tax code to these rules:

1) Everyone gets $12,000 from the government
2) You're taxed on 18% of everything you get
3) There are no other rules.

Poof, no tax consultants.

[Cliffy]

I highly doubt the city of Detroit employs a single person who is an expert on financial reorganization.

I have experience with consultants hired by a government agency. They are good at billing and thats about it. Unfortunately the public thinks they are some sort of experts and specialists when they know absolutely jack shit. Just wear your suit and tie and try to look like the expert. Their are PHD's and CPA's and licensed attorneys working for the city and the county. They know a hell of a lot more with the problems then some "consultants" who are here to scam the last few dollars. More Republican BS.

[Zacha341]

Awesome! ------

A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it.

[corktownyuppie]

A consultant is a person who borrows your watch, tells you what time it is, pockets the watch, and sends you a bill for it.

I think many here don't understand what top caliber consultancy firms do.

- Yes, they will borrow your watch and then tell you what time it is.
- Then they will show you that you were wearing it upside down.
- You also forgot to wind it.
- And you also forgot to add an hour for daylight savings time.

Why can't our current employees do that?

- They may already know but are afraid to speak up.
- They may be too busy trying to keep up with work.
- Maybe they also don't know.

At the end of the day, Orr will take out the hammer and do what's been necessary and unpopular. After it is all said and done, people will say, why didn't we just do this ourselves?

And at the point we can begin putting together the case study on how able-people, mounting challenges, and dysfunctional leadership can self-destruct. Consultants will then use it to prevent others from going down the same road as well as use it to teach others how to get out.

And when it all finally happens, we can all learn that it would've been far less painful had we just done it a long time ago.

[Zacha341]

Well now that's the irony of it all. Great point!

At the end of the day, Orr will take out the hammer and do what's been necessary and unpopular. After it is all said and done, people will say, why didn't we just do this ourselves?

[Hypestyles]

Where exactly is Kevin Orr's office, where can you send him a letter?

[Honky Tonk]

Where exactly is Kevin Orr's office, where can you send him a letter?

You're not sending him more cookies, are you?

[Hypestyles]

I wonder when the first major policy announcement from Orr will happen-- 18 months will presumably imply that he has to get drastic actions accomplished in short amounts of time.

[Wesley Mouch]

I wonder when the first major policy announcement from Orr will happen-- 18 months will presumably imply that he has to get drastic actions accomplished in short amounts of time.

Nobody today respects decisions made without consultation. So first things first. Talk to everyone -- so you can say you did.

[313WX]

I wonder when the first major policy announcement from Orr will happen-- 18 months will presumably imply that he has to get drastic actions accomplished in short amounts of time.

One has already been made [[albeit in a fucked up way that only Detroit can do it).

Orr will be tossing out the current union contracts and imposing new ones.

[Wesley Mouch]

Major announcement #1: council salaries not eliminated.

Makes game interesting. Orr certainly is acting more responsible already than council. Council's turn to behave well.

[Eber Brock Ward]

First line from a Freep [[our liberal daily) article today:

Pension and health care benefits for Detroit workers and retirees are expected to consume 33% of the city's 2013-14 budget, forcing deeper cuts in services.

http://www.freep.com/article/2013041...-Bing-s-budget

God bless the EM law [[and the EM and his consultants), because there is no reason this should ever, ever, EVER! be the case, and [[1) you can't tear up contracts/impose terms through bankruptcy and [[2) time has shown our politicians are unwilling or unable to attack this.

So go get 'em Kevyn, then take us to bankruptcy so we can soak the bondholders and then regular everyday citizens can get services, not have city budgets where there are to be "deeper cuts in services."