These are very much worth looking at, and are the same general type of arrangement we call for to manage and raise funds for the Parkway, which we address in our Guest Editorial Press Release of November 24, 2006 posted on our website.
Editorial: Right-sizing the city of Sacramento's work force
Consider contracting out some services, with strong oversight to protect taxpayers
Published 12:00 am PST Thursday, March 6, 2008
The city of Citrus Heights uses a private contractor to maintain its fleet of 40 police cars. The city's fleet maintenance cost last year – oil changes, brake repair, car washing – was just $115,000. When Citrus Heights contracted with the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department for police services, the sheriff used the county's maintenance crew to maintain squad cars, passing those costs onto the city.
Annual maintenance costs were $350,000, more than three times what Citrus Heights pays now to maintain a fleet of comparable size.
Keep those comparisons in mind.
As housing prices fall and property tax receipts plummet, cities across California are being squeezed. Many cities, Sacramento among them, are having to lay off workers to balance their budgets.
But not Citrus Heights. In part, that's because Citrus Heights doesn't hire employees to do jobs, such as washing cars, that private-sector workers can perform just as efficiently and at a lower cost.
A city of 88,000 people, Citrus Heights has only 200 city employees. Most of its municipal services – garbage collection, street maintenance, animal control – are done by private contractors. City employees oversee their work.
Even for jobs where city workers are used, building inspections for example, Citrus Heights hires workers based on minimum workloads. When there are a spate of new buildings under construction, the city hires temporary building inspectors under contract. When the work disappears, those temporary workers are let go – no need to lay off city employees.
Sacramento County's other two new cities, Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove, make heavy use of contract workers, too. As the city of Sacramento prepares pink slips for scores of its employees, Citrus Heights, Rancho Cordova and Elk Grove haven't laid off any workers.
