Recently, I observed one of the possible reasons for rate increases in Baltimore City.
Two city vans pulled up in front of my house near a fire hydrant. Six men got out of one van and one from the other.
Then the first six stood around and watched while the seventh used a wrench to loosen two parts of the hydrant, remove a third part and then replace it.
It was a one-man job that took less than five minutes. Yet the city sent two vans and seven workers to complete it.
It's good that fire hydrants are tested routinely. But it shouldn't take seven men and two vans. Perhaps the seven-man crew also had more complex work on their schedule that day, but then shouldn't the city's scheduling of men and equipment have been more specific to the task at hand?
The incident certainly looked likely to contribute to increased maintenance costs and it was yet another demonstration of the city's misuse of taxpayer funds.
J. Mahan