Rescuing the Freeway Foxes

The article “Foxes Put Agency $25,000 in Hole” (May 3) contains a glaring mathematical inconsistency.

The figure of $25,000 was stated to be “calculated by adding up the 145 hours spent on the foxes by the state agency’s employees,” and it was further stated that “65% of that cost is for salaries. . . . “

Now, 65% of $25,000 is $16,250. Dividing this figure by the 145 hours allegedly spent by the agency’s employees gives an average rate of approximately $112 per hour. Small wonder they were so enthusiastic! For that money, I would catch bears and mountain lions on the same day!

In the first paragraph, it was reported that 33 state officials were tied up on the project, thereby accruing this cost. Dividing the 145 hours by 33 yields 4.39 hours expended, on average, per employee; this hardly represents “tying up” when spread over a two-week period. I suspect that the actual hours expended were much, much more.

RICHARD V. FIELDS, Tustin