Bruno has heard rumors that Antonio is, well, kind of cheap.
I know, I know, this dog has had lots of fun with our mayor for living like a high roller – the mansion, a very rich taste in food and wine, world travel, body guards and the rest. But remember, he doesn’t actually pay for any of that stuff. You pay for some of it and rich friends pick up lots of tabs.
When it comes to paying out of his own pocket, Antonio is tighter than a chihuahua’s ass. At least that’s what I hear.
And the rumor seems to be confirmed with Antonio’s appointment of $1-a-year jobs czar Austin Beutner to “temporarily” take over the beleaguered DWP in addition to his other responsibilities — including Building and Safety, Airports and the Harbor and 10 others agencies.
.
Golly, if Antonio found a few more guys like Beutner, the budget crisis would be over, the streets and sidewalks would be paved and we’d have the 15,000 cops on the streets to really clean up this town.
While there’s been a lot of speculation that Beutner would replace crazy old David Freeman, Rick Orlov had the exclusive Sunday afternoon. The mayor must be pissed at the Dog Trainer.
“I’m keeping my office in City Hall,” the new undisputed master of City Hall multitasking told Orlov. “It’s a short walk or ride from the DWP.”
Well, at least Beutner knows where the building is. That’s a start.
And he wasn’t particularly flattering about how the mayor has handled the recent crisis. You can do that when you’re only making a buck a year and doing the jobs of a dozen or people.
Orlov said Beutner would not discuss the recent dispute over the increase in the Energy Cost Adjustment Factor, other than to say he believed it could have been handled better.
“I think now is a time to take a step back,” he told Orlov. “What I want to do is make sure the mayor, the commission and the City council are all sharing the same information and make sure we avoid falling in to the same sort of trap.”
That would be nice.
And Beutner said he met with guy who really runs the department — Brian D’Arcy, IBEW Local 18 business manager.
“People have made labor the issue,” Beutner said, “and I don’t think it’s the top issue facing the agency.”
Huh? Labor became the issue when D’Arcy’s union was getting 6 percent raises when the economy tanked and more big pay raises for the next 35 dog years while other city employees were getting fired.
No wonder Beutner told Orlov that he believes he can “establish a positive working relationship” with the union boss. After all, D’Arcy has been running the place while the guys supposedly in charge got run out at the rate of one a year for a decade.
“What people don’t realize is that at the DWP, labor is only 25 percent of its cost,” Beutner said. “And, they do a good job in their work. What I want to do is look at the other three-quarters of the agency and make sure costs are in line. People have made labor the issue and I don’t think it’s the top issue facing the agency.”
Beutner better watch out. D’Arcy gets what he wants – and he doesn’t trust people who work for one dollar a year. Thinks they must be stupid..
Woof!