Don't you people get it? Taxpayers are doing too much already

I had hoped that Newark's new police chief, Steven Sarver, might begin his duties with some ideas on how to save money in that department by increasing efficiency. Nope. We got us another needy administrator who has made a "study" and concluded that he needs three more officers, according to the Advocate report "Newark Police Department in need of manpower"

Speaking of needy administrators, you can always count on the Newark Mayor who wrote for the Advocate that if he gets his latest tax increase - $10 per auto tag - that "The additional $10 per plate will be dedicated to paving only" according to his "plan." What he failed to mention is that 1) once this money is thrown into the kitty, there's no way to check what happened to it; and 2) his "plan" is only as long as his term of office, and he's looking more like a short-timer with every attempt to further milk taxpayers.(See Diebold is point man for government greed)

Speak of needy administrators and, by golly, there comes Newark Schools again with a new "need" for more taxes. "Newark schools facing long-term deficit" was the title of the latest tax balloon sent up via the Advocate. Part of the rationale is that schools will have to pay more for insurance and purchased services and so they want an even bigger bite from the income of citizens - as though citizens aren't going to have to pay more for insurance and purchased services. They project 700 fewer students but still can't find ways to cut back on expenses.

This is the time when of all the things Newark citizens don't need spending more on government and quasi-government is at the top of the list. What government and quasi-government needs is not new money, not in times when President Bush squeezes ever tighter his stranglehold on the economy, but new innovative ways to use the money being spent. And mostly this points to government and quasi-government employees doing without customary raises in salaries and maybe relinquishing some of those costly benefits - raises and bennies not shared by most of us worker bees, by the way.

Among the few voices calling out on behalf of worker bees has been Doug Marmie, 6th Ward councilman. If you missed Doug's Advocate column that calls for a paving plan, rather than another tax on citizens, this is a good time to read it, along with reader comments. A well-done column and Doug, like Marc Guthrie, gets a vote of confidence for his willingness to think about ways to save rather than spend.