"Mr. Comptroller" Nixes Casual Fridays, Extends Work Days

Since taking office just 12 days ago, Comptroller John Liu hasn't just established a new code of decorum forcing staffers to rise from their seats when he enters the room and call him "Mr. Comptroller" — he's also eliminated dress-down Fridays! The Post reports that Liu — dubbed "King Liuy" by the tabloid — has nixed casual Fridays and ordered that workers arrive by 8 am, not 9 am.

"As a practical matter, people who have worked with Comptroller Liu in the past are accustomed to those hours at a minimum," said spokeswoman Sharon Lee. "It's not a secret that he's hardworking. It's known he is in the office before 8 a.m. and well after 6 p.m." Although no formal policy has been established so far, the "change has rankled many staffers long accustomed to working to a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour for lunch and two 15-minute breaks," the paper reports.

The former Queens City Councilman isn't the only one reveling in the new formalities. Deputy Comptroller Eric Eve — a political adviser to President Bill Clinton and former state Comptroller Carl McCall — informed Comptroller's Office staffers that there was leftover birthday cake in the conference room with this memo: "Subject to the approval of your manager, and only if you are inclined, please feel free to stop by the Comptroller's 5th Floor conference room."

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By Ben Muessig in News on January 12, 2010 12:50 PM

Comments [rss]

ron

He is doing great job!

ron

John is totally change

ilovejapgirls

what does a comptroller actually do again.....?

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

They dole out our money into the hands of firms and managers that give them and their friends kickbacks.

David

The comptroller audit's the cities offices.

Considering the job of an auditing firm is essentially to anally examine a companies accounting books, I find it surprising that the cities comptroller office was not more formally run beforehand.

rides on farts

How do you fuck up (and not fix) a direct quote like that? I mean, considering the poor proofing history here, you would think copy & paste would be the only way to go.

Holsum Pan

So pompous. I'll bet his staff rises and calls him Mr. Comptroller because they want to keep their jobs, but at least one of them is also wiping boogers on his personal belongings when he's not around.

newport27

I'm starting to like this guy. Dumb, slow NYC administration employees need a good kick in the ass.

S.K.

here, here!

FelixtheCat & Christine Quinn'

Don't believe the hype, Liu is one of the most unethical persons that I met and he is a born liar.

GOP

Liu didn't support Bloomberg. felixthecat's head will explode in 5, 4, 3, 2....

Rocknrope

And how is that different from any other politician?

scrappymcgee

Good luck getting unions to approve the new hours.

dragnet

Good to be the king

John_Matrix

how dare this uppity chinaman behave in such a fashion? who the hell does he think he is?

fuck the haters. more power to this guy for beating some asses.

Spirit of 76

The question is, what exactly does any of this accomplish? Do people work harder if they have to call him Mr. Comptroller and rise from their chairs? Are they more productive if they're not wearing casual business attire? There's getting people to work harder and better and then there's just being self-centered. If he destroys morale with his dictatorial edicts, you may actually see less work done at the comptroller's office.

Ishtar

He learned in the best sweat shop.

notatallfamous

OMG they forgot a number. Ha!

AnnaZed

"...accustomed to working to a.m. to 5 p.m."

That can't even be called a typo, what on earth IS that?

(hint: not a sentence)

thefacts

In a blog where 99% complain of 'useless' elected officials, we have an elected with drive and ambition and a strong work effort, and yet they still complain!