Contracting out government work versus doing it in house is of great benefit if done correctly, which is when the right services are contracted out, which can only be determined on an individual basis.
A good example is the contracting out of management and supplemental fund raising we suggest for the American River Parkway, through a coming together in a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) of the local governments who are Parkway stakeholders, who would then contract through the JPA with a nonprofit organization to manage the Parkway.
Nonprofit management is the model used for Central Park in New York and the Sacramento Zoo, and it works because they are regional assets of great public value, as is the Parkway.
Cities spared pain of layoffs
Citrus Heights, Elk Grove and Rancho Cordova hired firms, not staff, that are easier to cut.
By Ed Fletcher - efletcher@sacbee.com
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, March 2, 2008
While Sacramento already has delivered pink slips to two dozen employees – and hundreds more may soon join them in the unemployment line – the cities of Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Citrus Heights aren't sweating layoffs.
That's because they didn't form large city work forces after they incorporated – they hired out.
Established over the last decade, the three cities adopted a different model than traditional cities: paying firms – not city workers – to handle city services.
Joe Chinn, Rancho Cordova assistant city manager, said contractors give the city short-term labor without long-term labor costs.
"It gives us that great flexibility," he said.
Or, as Elk Grove Councilman Michael Leary said, if there's scaling back to do, it's not Elk Grove's problem.
"If these were all city workers, we'd have to be laying them off," he said.
In Leary's city, if you want to add an awning to your home, the permit is handled by a company named Interwest.
Pacific Municipal Consulting will tell you if your condo project meets city zoning.
And Elk Grove turns to MCE Corp. to fix potholes.
As the housing and construction markets have dried up – and tax revenue along with them – Sacramento's projected deficit has grown to nearly $60 million over the next fiscal year. The city has responded by laying off workers who process building permits, draft city plans and perform housing inspections. Buyouts of other workers are in the mix.
Local officials agree that when budgets get crunched by slowed taxes and a souring economy, contract cities are at an advantage.
