Raises? What Raises?

Total expenses for fiscal year 2011 increased by approximately $11,374,000 (8.96%) when compared to fiscal year 2010. This increase is predominately due to increases in salaries and employee benefits.

Source: City of Richardson.

Those sentences are from the 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for Richardson. I'm still trying to figure out where the city thought the money for those employee raises was going to come from. But even more, what raises are we even talking about?

After the jump, following the money.

Playoffs: Desoto 64, Berkner 55

The Berkner Rams men's basketball team lost their third-round playoff game Tuesday night to Desoto 64-55 at Grand Prairie High School. The Rams jumped out to a 9 point 1st quarter lead, led by 7 at halftime and still led by 1 after the 3rd quarter. But the Rams seemed to run out of steam in the 4th quarter, with Desoto outscoring Berkner by 10 to make the final result 64-55. Kendal Harris led the Rams in scoring with 20 points. The Jaguars were led by Matt Jones with 29.

With the loss, the Rams' season is over. And what a season it was. The Rams were District 9-5A champions with a 13-1 record. Their overall record was 27-7. Thanks for the great season, Rams.

More About That KPMG Audit

A word of thanks to the Richardson City Council audit committee (Bob Townsend, Laura Maczka, Scott Dunn) for asking the city's auditor, KPMG, if their Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) could be published in spreadsheet format. KPMG insists that it not be, in an effort to make it harder for unscrupulous people to change the data. Of course, that also makes it harder to audit the auditors, so to speak. KPMG have allowed the report to be published in a searchable PDF format. I can attest that this year's CAFR is searchable (thanks).

After the jump, so what?

The Devil Wears Green Eyeshades

Last week, without any training, I played art critic. This week, I get to play accountant, again without any training. Consider this a layman's adventure into the netherworld of municipal accounting, otherwise known as the CAFR. Fun fact: CAFR happens to be the abbreviation of a Latin phrase that means, "Abandon all hope ye who enter here." (Warning: I don't have any training in Latin, either.) Open the door and you'll be lured into a spider's web of terms and numbers that will bring you down and overwhelm you and smother you. Last warning: run away!

After the jump, the descent begins.

Phantom of the Opera at PHS

From 2012 01 Musicals

Phantom of the Opera, at JJ Pearce HS: Great voices. Lavish production. Ambitious. Romantic way to celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary.

Playoffs: Berkner 70, Mesquite Horn 61

The Berkner Rams men's basketball team won their second-round playoff game, beating Mesquite Horn 70-61 at South Garland High School. The Rams fought back from a 35-27 halftime deficit, outscoring the Jaguars by eleven points in the 3rd quarter and by six in the 4th. The balanced Ram offense had four players in double figures in scoring, with Kendal Harris leading the scoring with 23 points. The Jaguars were led by Mike King, also with 23.

With the win, the Rams are area champions and advance to the regional quarterfinals, where they will play the winner of Saturday's Desoto/Rowlett area championship game. Date and location are to be determined.

It's a great time to be a Ram!

The End of Western Civilization

Rodger Jones, editorial writer for The Dallas Morning News, takes time out from his primary cause, whining about the sidewalks to Richardson DART stations, in order to warn us of another apocalyptic problem on his mind, the end of Western civilization.

After the jump, the source of the danger.

Failure to Launch - cont.

Yesterday, I panned the sculpture planned for the plaza at Richardson's rebuilt Heights Recreation Center and Aquatic Center. In turn, some panned my review. Now that I've had 24 hours to think it over, do I have anything to add?

After the jump, more highbrow art review from someone with no training whatsoever.

Rocket Ship Fails to Achieve Liftoff

Source: City of Richardson.

This week marked the fiftieth anniversary of the orbital flight of John Glenn. Fittingly, the City of Richardson unveiled "Rocket Gateway," the sculpture design concept selected for the redeveloped Heights Park Recreation Center and Aquatics Center (the latter is what we used to call a swimming pool, but in a nod to John Glenn, maybe we ought to call this one a splashdown target zone). A lot of attention was paid to reusing the old playground equipment, especially the rocket ship climbing structure removed when the playground was redeveloped a few years ago.

After the jump, a high-brow art critic's opinion (of course, by high-brow art critic, I mean low-brow and me).

Where Is Everybody?

Yesterday, I praised the improved transparency and usability of government databases. Today, I use an excellent example, courtesy of Washington and New York. It's US Census data and a user interface provided by The New York Times.

After the jump, does your Richardson neighborhood feel less crowded than it did ten years ago?