Vote yes on GPS
Editorial 0 comments below
For more than six months now we've been trying to find a good reason why the Republicans on the Brookhaven Town Board are so against the installation of GPS devices in town vehicles.
To date, we haven't heard one.
Last week we listened to the Republican majority, and specifically Councilman Tim Mazzei, question the accuracy of a report given by two members of Town Supervisor Brian Foley's staff.
Mr. Mazzei seemed to have a hard time believing the measure could potentially save Brookhaven $643,000 per year, as the report claimed.
Frankly, that number does seem a bit high. But even if you say the savings would be a half-million dollars less, wouldn't that be worth it? If it saved only $5 and brought a little more accountability to town workers, wouldn't that still be worthwhile?
Another concern of Republicans seems to be the opposition of the town's labor unions to the project. As if we should be surprised when a union representative is against a measure designed, in part, to keep a close eye on the workers he or she represents. That's simply not a strong reason to oppose an initiative that would better help the town manage its vehicle fleet and save some bucks along the way.
The majority has also recently questioned whether or not GPS initiatives have been a success in other towns. Did they take the time to call those towns and ask? One council person we questioned before writing this editorial said "No, they're all Democratic towns."
So what? Not everything is us versus them, as much as the Brookhaven Town Board seems to think it is.
From what we've read about GPS systems in other municipalities, it seems as though a town the size of Brookhaven should get on board with the technology.
Data compiled by the systems can help towns track the efficiency of work crews, cut down on response time, limit payroll, reduce fuel expenses, and prevent the misuse of employee vehicles while improving driver productivity.
Why wouldn't we want that?
The time has finally come for a vote on the installation of GPS systems in town vehicles. We hope the majority will get on board with the Democrats Tuesday on this measure.
If not, at least finally give us a sufficient reason why you didn't.
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