The Detroit Water, Featherbedding, and Corruption Department

The current proposal for dealing with the sewer that the Detroit Water Department has become is to cut 80% of the current employees as surplus to effectively running the department.

The Detroit News: Detroit Water dept. may cut staff 80%

The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department could slash more than 80 percent of its staff over the next five years in a drastic overhaul to cut costs and reduce customers' rate increases.

A consultant hired by the Board of Water Commissioners presented its plan Wednesday with suggested job cuts that even shocked department leaders, who argue change is needed because of soaring personnel and infrastructure costs.

If adopted, the department would go from having 1,978 employees to 374 over the next five years. Another 361 employees would still work for the department but would be outsourced through other companies, according to the proposal. Officials estimate it would save about $139 million a year in personnel costs. Most jobs would be cut through attrition, but officials said layoffs are possible.

The Water department has been under scrutiny for the corruption endemic in the Kwame years, with the head of the water Depratment at the time, Victor Mercado, being indicted for racketeering and extortion, for participating in rigging millions in bids for Water department contracts.

The Union of course is outraged that such cuts might be proposed.

How bad is it? There are 257 different classifications for Detroit Water and Sewer employees. Vodkapundit notes that one of the union employees is classified as a horseshoer - even though the Department has no horses.

Think of the Detroit Water Department as a place for the Detroit and Wayne County politicians (all Democrat, natch) to secure cushy jobs for friends and family and exorbitant bids for their campaign contributors.

Even better, the Department isn't supported solely by Detroit but the Dems got a twofer as they could soak the less Democrat-dominated Suburbs and sucker them into paying yearly double-digit rate increases to cover the overhead of the political corruption they had wrought.

Sweet isn't it, having outsiders, many of them not Democrats, pay for the corruption and upkeep of the patronage, bribery and corruption needed for the Democrat stranglehold on Detroit and Wayne County to be maintained?

If the changes aren't adopted it is forecast that suburb water rates will have to increase on the order of 16-20%.

Just wait until there is an audit of the City of Detroit and its other departments - the results will likely be far, far worse. I half expect they'll find employees classified as buggy-whip makers.