The Inadequacy of One
Will I calculate service costs based on a single unit of service? Yes, but I don’t like to. It’s often hard to make the case for including the estimated units of service in a “Fee Study” (Study) as it increases our costs and the customer is trying to obtain a Study at the lowest possible [...]
The more things change the more they stay the same
We are living in a time of change. Redevelopment Agencies in their current form have disappeared. No one knows what the State budget will look like until the voters weigh in on temporary tax increases in the fall. Everyone is still trying to figure out what their new normal is for Sales and Property taxes. [...]
We’re All In This Together
Let’s jump into the “wayback machine” and travel back to 1975 when I was a 23 year old Administrative Analyst (i.e. “punk”) with a fresh new BPA working at my first government job, a well established city in the eastern San Gabriel Valley. With my C.E.T.A. tattoo firmly imprinted on my forehead and my “Whip [...]
Systemic Problems with Labor Negotiations
Many years ago, I audited a city in the San Gabriel Valley area of greater Los Angeles that was especially well-managed. One of the features that made this city exceptional was the process they used for labor negotiations. Before telling you what they did, I would like to summarize what many cities are currently doing. [...]
It’s time to think about updating your Cost Allocation Plan
If you use a Cost Allocation Plan (CAP) to recover General Fund costs from your Enterprise Funds, then it’s time to start thinking about updating that CAP for the 2012-13 budget year. If you do it during the relatively calm period after the auditors leave and before the budget process starts, then you will be [...]
The Costa Mesa Experiment
As you probably know, the City of Costa Mesa has pink-slipped nearly half of its employees. Considering that as of yet none of those pink-slipped employees have included firefighters and only eight out of the existing 139 police positions were involved, you understand that the cuts primarily came from the ranks of the General Employees [...]
Rethinking Animal Control
When our company started doing cost of services studies in the early 1980’s, it was routinely suggested that 50% of animal control costs could be recovered from dog licenses. The other 50% was looked at as a public safety expense to protect the community from rabies. In other words, all residents of the community would [...]
To Outsource or not to Outsource
In these days of budget angst and woe you may be getting pressure from your elected officials or community to outsource services that are currently provided by City staff. But will this actually save the City money while providing the same level of service to the community?
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