Laid-off police officers, unmowed parks, closed libraries. Those are the visible reminders of government's new, stripped-down reality. Some say there's no end in sight.While the private sector talks about glimmers of recovery, the conversation at city halls and county buildings across the Northern San Joaquin Valley isn't about when things will improve. It's about how government has to redefine itself.
Leaders aren't wondering how to provide services, they're wondering if they should provide them at all. A look at Modesto's general fund — the money that pays for basic services such as police, fire and parks — illustrates the problem. Ten years ago, the city collected $86.4 million for that fund. The real estate boom — and the property and sales tax revenues it created — boosted the fund to $118 million in 2006. This year, it fell to $102.6 million. "To me, we need to rethink what's important to all of us, what's important to the welfare of the people," said Modesto Mayor Jim Ridenour, listing police, fire, parks, sewer and water as necessities. "What I think is very, very important, to you may not mean a thing." Some say public agencies must learn to make do under a state of "permanent fiscal stress." That's what Frank Benest, former city manager of Palo Alto and an adviser to International City-County Management Association, calls it. He says the discussion for local governments has shifted from "creative budgeting" to "service redesign."
"A lot of people say, 'Let's reduce the cost of government.' That's all well and good until you get to the first budget hearing," Benest said. That's usually where leaders get an earful from taxpayers about how to make the best use of their money. Here's a look at what the public can expect more of as cities re-imagine their roles.
• Sharing or consolidating serv-ices with other cities. Need police? Ask the city next door. That's what Lathrop and Manteca are thinking about. Lathrop, which contracts with the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department for its police services, is looking at whether it should hire Manteca, its nearest neighbor roughly five miles to the southeast, for its law enforcement. The two cities share sewer capacity and an animal shelter. Adding police to the list makes sense, says Manteca City Manager Steve Pinkerton. "Our crime issues are really Manteca-Lathrop, they're just not Manteca," he said. Persuading the public to contract with another city or local government for public safety services can be tricky though, says Sam Olivito, executive director of the California Contract Cities Association. "In older cities, their community has had an identity with their police department, and there's a reluctance to move away from that," he said. "It's very sensitive and it cuts home very closely."The downturn forced communities to swallow those worries. Now, Pinkerton says there's not a day that goes by when city managers and county leaders don't trade ideas about what else they can share and regionalize.
For small cities such as Oakdale, population 21,000, consolidation will be essential to long-term survival, says City Manager Steve Hallam. He envisions a future where Stanislaus County's nine cities share one or two chief building officials. All cities use the same building code, so why pay a person in each city to interpret it, reasons Hallam.Local governments sharing services is a natural step for savings, Benest says."Your partners are local governments who you work with on an ongoing basis anyway," Benest said. "You have the same goals and outcomes. And you can get a whole variety of cost efficiencies."(more)
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