ORDA has "ongoing fiscal challenges" according to this article

With all due respect to Matt. You dont in fact know that a deal with Centerplate or a possible concessionaire anywhere, is a good deal for the taxpayer. In order to know that, you would first have to read the detailed period sales report. Then you would have to total up the numbers etc etc.

So I suggest to anyone, that unless you know the numbers, you should simply say, It May be a good deal. Or, it might be a good deal. For in fact you dont know that for the taxpayer it is in fact a good deal. I'm also sorry 15 dollars an hour appears to be a high wage to some. Considering how much money goes thru a cashiers hands with upwards of 600 tickets being sold by one person, or about 17 grands worth of sales, it seems like common sense to pay enough to treat the cashier with respect for an accurate and honest job. 8 hours a day would simply be 120 dollars before taxes. Anything less and well, lots of lesser people might skim some off the top. I'm sure you're all familiar with those stories. 7.50 would be 60 dollars per day. Cashiering also involves customer service. I invite anyone to try this job then talk about how silly it is to get paid more than minimum wage for it. You get what you pay for.

I didnt know we werent allowed to talk about finance in this blog web site. So,..sorry about that. I guess I'm done. Thanks guys. Carry on.

sophia wrote

... it seems like common sense to pay enough to treat the cashier with respect for an accurate and honest job. 8 hours a day would simply be 120 dollars before taxes. Anything less and well, lots of lesser people might skim some off the top. I'm sure you're all familiar with those stories. ...

Wow ... the fact that you believe it's necessary to pay someone a higher wage to expect honesty and accuracy is unbelievable, and ultimately, is a whole lot more disrespectful to the people who work these jobs than anything else said on this forum.

Face4Me wrote

sophia wrote

... it seems like common sense to pay enough to treat the cashier with respect for an accurate and honest job. 8 hours a day would simply be 120 dollars before taxes. Anything less and well, lots of lesser people might skim some off the top. I'm sure you're all familiar with those stories. ...

Wow ... the fact that you believe it's necessary to pay someone a higher wage to expect honesty and accuracy is unbelievable, and ultimately, is a whole lot more disrespectful to the people who work these jobs than anything else said on this forum.

I agree with Face4Me. I might think that people should be paid more, but if you agree to do a job for a certain amount of money, you do the freaking job. You don't skim off the top, or slack off on purpose, or make excuses, you do the job you're getting paid to do.

sophia wrote

Considering how much money goes thru a cashiers hands with upwards of 600 tickets being sold by one person, or about 17 grands worth of sales, it seems like common sense to pay enough to treat the cashier with respect for an accurate and honest job. 8 hours a day would simply be 120 dollars before taxes. Anything less and well, lots of lesser people might skim some off the top. I'm sure you're all familiar with those stories.

I didnt know we werent allowed to talk about finance in this blog web site. So,..sorry about that. I guess I'm done. Thanks guys. Carry on.

Stopped back by to check in on this thread and this has turned into a doozie in the past week when I was not looking.

WOW.  Now we all know why Bell was such a loser.  DEC clearly has fostered an culture where employees felt empowered to either get paid above market wages or just take from the till.  I'm not even sure what to say about this.  I guess I'm naive to expect people to be honest but considering that the former GM at Bell was routinely fleecing the taxpayer by giving away lift tickets to his buddies ski shop its too much to ask to expect the staff to also be honest.

I didn't think I'd ever say this but it appears that its a good thing that DEC no longer runs this place - clearly there were issues running from the top to the bottom of Bell's staff that Orda I'm sure is addressing.

I'm clearly not a crowd fav here in the forum but now we have someone that is way more disliked than me - Sophia.

I think I've just heard some excellent evidence for the argument that technology should replace humans in many service jobs. No cash, at least.

mattchuck2 wrote

Taxes in NYC and Long Island are way higher than upstate, and those areas aren't "economic wastelands".

Oh, yes they are. Visit Amsterdam, Schenectady, Syracuse, Elmira, Canajohorie, Rochester, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Johnstown, and a few other towns up there besides Saratoga and Ithaca. If it wasn't for state money feeding "opportunity zones" like big black holes, the military, and academia and it's bloated salaries, a lot of those places would be literally ghost towns. Young people with any kind of smarts and ambition leave ASAP, and the others left hang out and make futureless babies ASAP. No company in it's right mind would start a business up there unless they are assured of amazing tax breaks, and, well, maybe a boat and a vacation house somewhere, nudge nudge wink wink. It's sorta like Detroit all spread out over hundreds and thousands of square miles. And, it will end like Detroit.

I wasn't comparing upstate and L.I. taxes. I was comparing upstate and Utah or Colorado or N.C.. L.I. Has tons of problems, too.

Benny Profane wrote

... Young people with any kind of smarts and ambition leave ASAP, and the others left hang out and make futureless babies ASAP. ...

Wow again ... this thread just keeps getting better and better ... NOT!

sophia wrote

I didnt know we werent allowed to talk about finance in this blog web site.

There's no restrictions on discussion of finance in the forums.

ausable skier wrote

...someone that is way more disliked...

For me, there's a distinction between a difference of opinion and dislike.

I don't agree with every one of sophia's views, but for me that doesn't translate into dislike. I don't even know her.

Maybe she works or worked at Bell or knows some who do.

That's a voice I want to hear. Her opinion is welcome as far as I'm concerned.

Benny Profane wrote

mattchuck2 wrote

Taxes in NYC and Long Island are way higher than upstate, and those areas aren't "economic wastelands".

Oh, yes they are. Visit Amsterdam, Schenectady, Syracuse, Elmira, Canajohorie, Rochester, Buffalo, Plattsburgh, Johnstown, and a few other towns up there besides Saratoga and Ithaca. If it wasn't for state money feeding "opportunity zones" like big black holes, the military, and academia and it's bloated salaries, a lot of those places would be literally ghost towns. Young people with any kind of smarts and ambition leave ASAP, and the others left hang out and make futureless babies ASAP. No company in it's right mind would start a business up there unless they are assured of amazing tax breaks, and, well, maybe a boat and a vacation house somewhere, nudge nudge wink wink. It's sorta like Detroit all spread out over hundreds and thousands of square miles. And, it will end like Detroit.

I wasn't comparing upstate and L.I. taxes. I was comparing upstate and Utah or Colorado or N.C.. L.I. Has tons of problems, too.

Call it what you want but its home to me and i aint leavin......more to life than the almighty dollar

sophia wrote

I'm also sorry 15 dollars an hour appears to be a high wage to some. Considering how much money goes thru a cashiers hands with upwards of 600 tickets being sold by one person, or about 17 grands worth of sales, it seems like common sense to pay enough to treat the cashier with respect for an accurate and honest job. 8 hours a day would simply be 120 dollars before taxes. Anything less and well, lots of lesser people might skim some off the top. I'm sure you're all familiar with those stories.

By way of comparison, the going rate for an entry level bank teller in the Capital District is around $10/hour.  The  $9/hr being offered by ORDA for ticket sellers sounds pretty fair to me.

ausable skier wrote

I'm clearly not a crowd fav here in the forum but now we have someone that is way more disliked than me - Sophia.

C'mon now Aussie, don't sell yourself short

I certainly hope no one "dislikes" Sophia for wishing the employees at Bell made more money, heck I wish we all did. Unfortunately life doesn't work that way.

Face4Me wrote

sophia wrote

... it seems like common sense to pay enough to treat the cashier with respect for an accurate and honest job. 8 hours a day would simply be 120 dollars before taxes. Anything less and well, lots of lesser people might skim some off the top. I'm sure you're all familiar with those stories. ...

Wow ... the fact that you believe it's necessary to pay someone a higher wage to expect honesty and accuracy is unbelievable, and ultimately, is a whole lot more disrespectful to the people who work these jobs than anything else said on this forum.

This seems to be removed from Sophia's post. I am glad somebody copied it into the thread. Blackmail by the workers is a great philosophy.

It is not called skimming - it is called STEALING.

Is it possible that when Belleayre took in all that money there was zero auditing to prevent stealing and track the business financials?

What a post.