George Rebane

Hey, it’s the new wave sweeping the country.  More and more cities and counties are hiring out their core services to neighboring jurisdictions and private enterprises.  Most of these measures are driven by runaway public sector compensation packages that the local electeds just let get out of hand, some like Maywood, CA (see here) came to grief through just plain malfeasance, and others saved the day exercising fiscal prophylactics.

Tamara Audi writes in ‘Cities Rent Police, Janitors to Save Cash’ –

After years of whittling staff and cutting back on services, towns and cities are now outsourcing some of the most basic functions of local government, from policing to trash collection. Services that cities can no longer afford to provide are being contracted to private vendors, counties or even neighboring towns. … The move saves cities budget-crushing costs of employee benefits like health insurance and retirement. Critics say contracting means giving up local control and personalized services. … Cities say they have little choice. Municipalities across the U.S. will face a projected shortfall of $56 to $86 billion between 2010 and 2012, according to a report from the National League of Cities.

Our own Nevada County Supervisors just passed a resolution to have Recology, a waste management contractor, increase its services at the local county dump or, more accurately, our ‘transfer station’ since the stuff eventually gets hauled away to a distant landfill.  They figure this will save the county about $75K a year, and these days every penny counts.  I guess we can file this little item under fiscal prophylactics, which file, I’m happy to say, has been well added to over the last several years.

Unfortunately, looking at the wider horizons, these cost saving measures are coming a day late and more than a dollar short for most places.  I’m sure each of the affected jurisdictions had their own bell ringers who brought the pilfering of the public purse by the public service unions to the attention of local voters.  As were my colleagues and I (e.g. see my columns in the online Union) here in the foothills, they also were shouted down by their local know-nothings, and charged with falsely accusing the selfless public service employees of bankrupting the hands that fed them.

The important thing to keep in mind is that these same progressives have learned nothing from such developments, and continue their opposition to fiscal responsibility at every turn and at all levels of government – tax, borrow, print, and spend.   Those who oppose such social philandering are accused of polarizing the country.  The alternative is to walk off the cliff with them arm in arm.