San Diego Mayor Sanders Plans `Harshest' Budget Cuts, Services Competition

[The Northerner]

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders is calling for companies to compete with municipal departments through “managed competition” to provide services such as street sweeping and vehicle repair and help the city save money.

“We can end the government monopoly on non-essential services when the private sector can do the same job for less money,” Sanders, 60, said yesterday in a prepared speech on the state of California’s second-biggest city.

San Diego faces a $73 million deficit for the fiscal year that begins in July. In his speech, Sanders, a Republican, said private management of the technology ‘Help Desk’ for the eighth- most populous U.S. city cut costs in half. He said two functions, fleet maintenance and publishing services, are ready for “managed competition” and several others will be soon.

San Diego voters in November rejected a half-cent sales-tax increase designed to help close budget deficits over five years. After that vote, Sanders proposed putting future city employees into 401(k)-like retirement-savings plans to cut pension costs. The mayor said he expects to bring that proposal to voters soon.

The merger of two city departments with overlapping functions, Development Services and Planning, will save $1 million a year, Sanders said. He said the city has cut 1,400 jobs over five years, lopping off $94 million a year in costs.

San Diego’s ratio of city workers to residents has fallen to its lowest level in four decades and it will keep dropping, said Sanders, a police officer who rose to chief. He was first elected mayor in 2005.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-13/san-diego-mayor-sanders-plans-harshest-budget-cuts-services-competition.html

[marmar]

1. 'calling for companies to compete with municipal departments through “managed competition”'

That's Greek for privatize, squash the unions and toss city employees out on their asses.

[leftstreet]

2. "government monopoly" "private sector" = asshole talking points

:banghead:

[Hannah Bell]

3. "the private sector can do the same job for less money" = big joke

[MindPilot]

4. It's all about busting the unions.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Ironically the police union as well

Sanders is a nightmare... and what is worst, he is actually better than some of the other pols here.

He also was behind prop D, which would have raised some taxes... gasp... but the locals could not have any of that.