New job

[ObsoElitist]

My career started as a Porsche/VW tech and has dragged me into exotic supercars, early auto restoration, English vintage racers, baja racing, shipyard machine work and even running a swordfish boat for 2 years.
For 20 years I have set my own days and hours. For 15 years I have worked alone. For 3 years I have been fully self-employed selling vintage vehicles and parts.
Yesterday I started work as the #3 bus mechanic for the school district. Im not sure how long I will last being overseen by abundant bureacrats, and the pay isnt fantastic but the hours are flexible, no one ever gets laid off, and the benefits are great. Today the shop boss tells me I can borrow the district's dump truck,, 4x4 Ford loader, the backhoe, and the big trailers any time I want for my own use. I can come in on off days and work on my stuff there too. And, I get a paid day off Monday. I should have gone with Govt work 40 years ago.

 

[CenTex Farmall]

Now to just save up for that 917.....

 

[jCarroll]

I wonder who the shop boss is sleeping with ?????????????????

 

[showcrop]

I used to tell my son that his best future would be in working for a gov't entity. Decent pay, excellent benefits, few years to retirement, no expectation of hard work, etc. etc.

 

[dewy]

tax dollars well spent

 

[ohiojim]

just what i want to hear, my tax dollars being spent so you can improve your property at my expence.........

 

[Gary from Muleshoe]

If you were in my district using
government equipment for personal gain.
HEADS WOULD ROLL, that is abuse of
government owned equipment. First of all
your boss would go to jail for allowing
it, then you next for doing it. Have fun
as cell mates with no payed time off.

 

[Blackhole49]

Keep talking about the dump truck, loader and backhoe on forums like this, and that job and benefits won't last long.

 

[Badger bob]

Well atlest some one is getting some good from tax dollars. Bob

 

[FBH44]

Yep, borrowing all that school district equipment for private use will get you and everybody else in big time trouble. Soon as the news paper finds out, or the school superintendent finds out. Don't do it. Let everybody else do it, get fired and prosecuted, then you take over as Shop Foreman. Good hours and benefits. My advice.

 

[Taylormade]

Good lord, people just can't stand to see others happy. Whether it's bragged about or not, that kind of stuff happens every day in this country. No, you're not SUPPOSED to use the equipment for personal use, but I assure you it happens. Every day. I've given plenty of $100 handshakes to guys who are working nearby to swing by on a Friday afternoon with that truck or backhoe for 20 minutes worth of work.

Everyone's always crying about how their tax dollars are spent... You should be ecstatic that your tax dollars are going to help a real person do real work on their property instead of spending $300M on a blimp that the Army wanted and scrapped within 3 years or $5M for crystal stemware for the State Department. How about $400k to study the effects of swedish massages on rabbits?

Get mad at that... not that a fellow forum member is able to take advantage of an opportunity that his boss told him he could partake in.

Congrats on the new job and good luck to ya!

 

[Mike M]

Yes sir if you would of done this years ago you could of been fully retired in sometimes 20 to 25 years ?
I think I messed up years ago and didn't apply for a job working in the city garage.

 

[Donald Lehman]

It's called misuse of public funds, my friend. It is a criminal offense everywhere in this country I know of. When the equipment is used to assist non-profits or clean up a barn or house after a fire or other disaster, that's one thing. Personal use is another. Yes it happens everywhere. Doesn't make it legal. I would advise the poster to use this privilege very sparingly (if at all) and not advertise it to anyone, especially any of the poor buggers who are paying through the nose for taxes.


Now to the poster. Congrats on the job. Plush job like that don't come along every day.

 

[Dick2]

Avoid things that could come back and bite you. I was questioned why I took a state vehicle home at night. The answer was that I drove the vehicle home and parked it in my driveway as I had to leave early the next day to get to a meeting in the opposite direction, instead of driving 25 miles into the city to pick up a vehicle. The powers that be didn't like that, so we took a state vehicle and drove to our destination the afternoon before the meeting. Stayed at a good motel, put our meals on the expense account and the supervisor thought that was okay. The next supervisor we got told us to take a state vehicle and leave from home early the next day so we didn't have to stay at a motel.

Personally, I would decline to use state equipment for your own purposes; that could get you fired and you would lose your retirement benefits.

 

[charlie n]

What a deal.Borrow everything you need to do chores.Tear it up,fix it with tax payers money. Hit a gas line or wreck the truck.Let tax money bail you out of that too. BU#! S&IT

 

[Steve@Advance]

That sounds like a great job.

But I would approach the shop and equipment use with great caution. If something were to happen, an accident,
a complaint, something comes up missing... When it comes down to who takes the heat, it won't be your boss!

 

[cuby]

Maybe that boss is just testing him or maybe boss doesnt like him. Several different ways to look at it.

 

[DoubleR]

When I retired from my real job I went to work for the local school district. I am a Bus Driver and part time mechanic. The first thing they did was give me a key to the place and told me about the same thing they did you. They treated me like I'd worked there forever. I think they were just glad to get someone that would do the job. I have never taken advantage of that and probably never will. After working 35 years for a big nation wide company I wasn't use to being treated that way. I just don't want anything to come back and bit me. Let alone, the local taxpayer seeing me utilizing the tax payers resources.

 

[Steve A W]

I agree with Steve@Advance, proceed with caution !
I did the municipal work for about five years. It was
great, worked for a small town "Street dept" witch included
all town maintenance.
It was great until a change in politicians!
They decided they could save a bunch of money by "Outsourcing".
What they didn't figure on was the budget cut they got for not
having their own street dept.

Steve A W

 

[dr sportster]

I guess everyone already complained you will be wasting all their tax money. You not using my tax money so I don't care BUT I know it is not legal or authorized for someone to okay use of equipment . Unauthorized backhoe use has brought down mayors in my area. Despite all the negativity congratulations on a new job.

 

[jim castleman]

Don't forget to max out your 457B!

 

[K Effective]

Wow! Talk about overqualified! :wink:

Enjoy the new job, congratulations.

 

[El Toro]

That's why I left the farm when drafted into the Army and when I was discharged I was hired as a civilian testing military vehicles. Worked there
almost 40 years. Hal

 

[bcdave]

Interesting comments. One power utility I worked for expected us to run when the phone rang to keep the customers happy. Yes we got paid well for it but for dedication to the customers we also got fringe benefits. We had many paid meals and could use ANY company equipment for personal or community work. We only had to inform the supervisor first so if any public were to complain, they could just say it was approved. No one complained because they appreciated the service they were getting. Now managers are afraid of the customer and don't even like trucks seen at a coffee shop. The employees don't run as fast as they used to.
Dave

 

[Bret4207]

(quoted from post at 09:17:27 01/15/16)
I used to tell my son that his best future would be in working for a gov't entity. Decent pay, excellent benefits, few years to retirement,[b:71ebf5a062] no expectation of hard work, [/b:71ebf5a062]etc. etc.

I think our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen might prove your theory wrong!

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 16:37:20 01/15/16)

(quoted from post at 09:17:27 01/15/16)
I used to tell my son that his best future would be in working for a gov't entity. Decent pay, excellent benefits, few years to retirement,[b:8555dfbcec] no expectation of hard work, [/b:8555dfbcec]etc. etc.

I think our Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen might prove your theory wrong!

Yes, sorry, I wasn't thinking of armed services in my post. At least in my mind there is a big difference between "Gov't. workers" and members of the armed services.

 

[LAA]

When you deal with the devil don't be surprised to get burned. You have zero chance of sustaining the largesse that government parasites
lavish on themselves, the coming economic crash will leave millions wondering what happened to their free checks.

 

[4wdtom]

It might be OK with the shop boss if you use equipment, but is it OK with the town or whoever
actually owns the stuff? You don't want to be caught using public equipment if it is going to get
you fired when someone notices public equipment on your property working.

 

[kub6040]

I am different from others and will start with
congratulations and do what you can and don't worry about
the bull as you obviously don't need them ,they need you
,so I think if it don't work out for you there will be
another door to open elsewhere. Enjoy and be happy. If it
gets bad quit.

 

[ObsoElitist]

Dang, looks like I stirred up a nest of sourpusses. Its in the contract, as a perk for less than spectaular wages, and if you break it, you fix it. Feel better now?
I have my own equipment and dont need theirs but the dump truck may come in handy someday.

 

[tn terry t]

I guess you get it while you can but it was stupid as hail to broadcast it to the world

 

[ObsoElitist]

It is not a secret, and is known to the public in the district. I posted it because it surprised me, as I once again, to get the job, took the Oath of Allegiance to support and defend fhe Constitution, in a district where then students do not make the Pledge of Allegiance in class. Apparently I am now a disaster aid worker too.

 

[Spook]

Congrats on the job. We had a couple guys fired here for borrowing equipment. One was the public works supervisor, 35+ years on the job, got turned in for using a backhoe on his son's property. Got turned in by a neighbor, who was a excavation contractor. Guess he didn't like the competition.....