It’s Time to Take Another Look at Budget Cuts in San Carlos.

The “Other” Option.

Last night, after listening to nearly two hours of public commentary which was unanimously and vehemently against outsourcing the San Carlos Police and Fire services, the City Council of San Carlos nonetheless advised the City Manager’s staff to continue investigating outsourcing as the primary option for balancing the budget in San Carlos.    (It makes one wonder what the purpose of speaking at the Council meeting accomplishes?)   But ironically, continuing to investigate this option is probably not a bad idea, because I believe they will find that cost savings that are being touted are severely overestimated, in part because they’re being gleaned from very preliminary proposals from both the Sheriff’s office and Cal Fire — AND because the level of service outlined in both proposals are not the same level of service that we have today.   It will be interesting to see what the savings really look like when a more accurate comparison is done.  Apples to apples.

But what about the “other” path that was proposed by the City Manager two weeks ago — the path that called for “cuts across the board,” instead of outsourcing  Fire and Police Departments?    After all, the whole reason that outsourcing is being so heavily pushed by the City was to avoid the draconian cuts that were proposed in this path.  But have we given up on looking into budget cuts?   I hope not, because on further analysis of what has been done to date, it’s very evident that more work needs to be done.

Flatter, not Fatter.

I have been through enough Silicon Valley re-organizations to know that cost savings are achieved in a re-org by “flattening” an organization.  In other words, you end up having more employees reporting to fewer managers.  It’s called efficiency, and it’s a  key reason why middle-level managers are always a prime target during layoffs. … Click Here to Continue Reading

San Carlos Police Officers Association Gives Official “Thumbs Down” to Outsourcing.

Press Release

In a press release issued this morning, the San Carlos Police Officers Association gave a resounding thumbs-down to the proposal that was submitted by the City Manager of San Carlos that recommends outsourcing the police service in San Carlos to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.  The San Carlos POA has thoroughly reviewed the proposal that was submitted by the Sheriff’s Department before issuing this press release.  To download a copy of this release, click here:  San Carlos POA Press Release, or see the full content of the press release at the bottom of this post.

A Refreshing Perspective.

Now, before everyone jumps on the POA’s position as being self-serving, it’s important to note that these officers are turning down a significant raise in pay and possibly upward career mobility that working for the Sheriff’s Department would provide.  When was the last time you saw a professional athlete turn down more pay and more opportunity to stay with their current team?   Hmmm.

Here’s the press release in its entirety

********FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE********

From San Carlos Police Officers Association

March 19, 2010

San Carlos Police Officers Association Denounces Proposed “Outsourcing” Deal With San Mateo County Sheriff

At the request of San Carlos City Manager Mark Weiss, the San Mateo County Sheriff has submitted a proposal to take over policing services in San Carlos.  It is posted on the City of San Carlos website.  As you read into it, you can see they are proposing to save the city 3.5 million dollars by cutting the police services by almost half.  The proposal assigns a total of 14 deputies to the City of San Carlos to replace the current 30 officers San Carlos now uses to police the city.  At the same time the Sheriff claims that police services will not be reduced.  How can anyone even believe that for a minute?

The bottom line upfront is one of the highest paid city management teams in San Mateo County has failed to do their jobs and now they want a do over, at the expense of the citizens and the dedicated employees of the San Carlos Police Department.

The San Carlos Police Department has endured budget cuts over the last 10 years that has brought it to its current staffing level of 30, down from 38.  San Carlos Police Chief Greg Rothaus was recently asked to propose 10% and 20% cuts for the upcoming budget.  The Chief proposed these cuts but also stated that reducing the level of staffing below 25 officers becomes “draconian” and the department could not function.  With the current staffing of 30 personnel, the San Carlos Police Department has 1.1 officers per capita, less than half of the national average of 2.4.  In a recent report to the city Council “The Dashboard”, Chief Rothaus compared San Carlos against four benchmark cities of comparable size; Belmont, Foster City, Burlingame and Los Gatos.  The report, available at the San Carlos Police website, showed that San Carlos Police, although lower in officers per capita and budget then the benchmark cities, outperformed them in property crime clearance rates, burglary clearance rates, and violent crime clearance rates. … Click Here to Continue Reading

“Spotlight on San Carlos” Interview Series: San Carlos Police Officer’s Association.

Public Safety – A Hot Topic.

The San Carlos Police Department has been in the news quite a bit these past few weeks, but not for reasons you might expect.   Last week, the City Manager of San Carlos announced that his “preferred path” to balance the City’s budget calls for outsourcing the law enforcement responsibility in San Carlos to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.   (The other part of this proposal is to turn the Fire Department responsibilities to Cal Fire, but that will be addressed in a different segment.)

This announcement has raised major concerns within the Police ranks, as well as with the citizens of San Carlos — and rightfully so.   If you attended last night’s fantastic Police Town Hall Meeting, you saw the statistics first-hand –  San Carlos has one of the best police departments on the Peninsula, hands down.  So while the cost savings that the City Manager is proposing may look enticing on paper, there are far too many questions that need to be answered before any judgment should be rendered on this proposal.  One thing is for certain — ANY proposal needs to maintain this level of service, or it won’t be a good deal for San Carlos.

Interview:  The San Carlos Police Officer’s Association.

This week’s guest on Spotlight on San Carlos is Suzanne Sheppard, Vice President of the San Carlos Police Office’s Association.   In this interview, we discuss topics ranging from current staffing challenges in the department, to the latest budget proposal.   Click the play button below to hear the interview:

(If you’re reading this on email, click on this link to access the interview:  Interview — San Carlos POA)

San Carlos City Manager Presents Two Paths to Close Budget Gap.

Two Options Proposed.

Late today, the City of San Carlos issued a press release that outlines the two paths that are now being considered to close the city’s current $3.5M budget gap.   While the two options are quickly outlined in the City Budget Overview from the city website, they will be discussed in much more detail in the upcoming City Council Budget Workshop that will be held next Saturday, March 13 at 12:00 at the San Carlos Library.   But even with few details to draw from, one thing is very evident — both options take radically different approaches to solving the budget deficit.

The City’s “Preferred” Path:  Outsource Fire and Police Services.

You may have heard rumors to the effect that the City was considering outsourcing the Fire Department services to Cal Fire, and the Police Department services to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.  Well, these are no longer rumors –  in today’s press release, City Manager Mark Weiss left no doubt that this is his “preferred path” to closing the budget deficit, since it accounts for $3M-$6M in potential savings.  This proposal also calls for outsourcing park maintenance, and for the installation of parking meters downtown for an additional savings of up to $500K.

The Other Path:  Cuts Across the Board.

The second option that is being considered is essentially an aggregation of the cuts that were proposed earlier in the 10%/20% budget reduction exercises that were conducted a few months back by each of the key departments.   … Click Here to Continue Reading

San Carlos at a Crossroads: Public Parks, or Public Safety?

Key Decision on Turf at Highlands.

If things go as everyone expects at the meeting this Monday night, the City Council will vote to award a $1.7M contract to convert Highlands Park to an all-weather turf surface.  The discussion item is already on their agenda, and there is a widespread belief that it will be approved.   If this contract is indeed awarded and the green light is given to begin construction, it will join the infamous decision to sell San Carlos High School as one of the worst moves ever made in the history of the City of San Carlos.    That’s how serious this issue is.

I’m not against all-weather turf.   I referee soccer games up at Highlands and Stadium, so I know how bad these fields have gotten – they’re downright dangerous in places.  And with the likely closure of Arguello and Crestview Parks, the fields at Highlands Park will degrade even more quickly with overflow usage from the closed parks.   So I don’t think anyone can disagree that all of our fields are in need of extensive repair….

But I do think that it’s absolutely ludicrous that we are even considering spending this kind of money on a park right now – at a time when we are also talking about cutting our police force (again) and closing a fire station.

There’s a Public Safety Crisis in San Carlos.

The potential closure of a few our of our parks,  and a reduction in use of the San Carlos Youth Center has grabbed much of the media spotlight — it even made the local TV news broadcast.     But lest we forget, the very same 10%/20% budget reduction exercise that recommended these closures is also calling for additional cuts in our police and fire staffing, including the possible closure Fire Station 16 on the Alameda — the engine company that is the first to respond to your homes in White Oaks, Howard Park, Alder Manor, and parts of Beverly Terrace if you have a fire or medical emergency.  Is this hitting home yet?  It should.

Years of continuous budget cuts have put the public safety of San Carlos on the brink.  Consider the following:

• Crime in San Carlos: up by 25%.  Police Chief Greg Rothaus released some alarming statistics in this report that shows that crime is on the increase in San Carlos.  But you already know this, because many of you have had your cars broken into this past year, right?    While the proliferation of bars and restaurants downtown has probably helped the city’s coffers, it also places additional stress on our already lean police force as they’re now dealing with an increase in bar fights and DUI’s…instead of patrolling our neighborhoods.  There’s no magical formula here — you can’t stem a rise in crime with fewer police officers.
• Minimum Fire Coverage.   As it stands today, our fire coverage in San Carlos has been cut to the bare bones.    Our stations are manned by 3-man crews, instead of 4-man crews like most fire districts (more on why this crucial in an upcoming post.)   And get this…Station 13 — our main downtown station — is now only staffed to support the tiller rig, which by definition is NOT equipped with the amount of pumps and hoses required to fight a major structure fire.   I will be writing an extensive article in a few weeks about how the budget cuts have decimated our fire department.
• Insurance Premiums.  Whether you know it or not, your home fire insurance premiums take into account the proximity of your home to a fire station — the closer you are to a fire station, the cheaper your premium is.  If Station 16 is indeed closed, or even reduced to a “Paramedic-Only” station, fire premiums will rise for many San Carlos residents — significantly.

What Are Our Priorities?

Say what you want about what makes San Carlos a great place to live, and what keeps our home values so high…the schools, parks, weather, etc…   But nothing has a greater impact on the general welfare of a community than PUBLIC SAFETY — which, sadly, is most often taken for granted.   Let us not forget that one of the biggest reasons that people choose to live in San Carlos is that “It’s a safe place to live and raise a family.”     Great schools, location, weather, and our downtown won’t be worth a hill of beans if we can’t maintain a top-notch level of public safety.

Which brings us back to the original premise of this post — should we be spending $1.7M on our parks when our public safety is in crisis?? I fully understand that there are issues that restrict how Measure G funds are to be spent, but ALL options should be fully investigated before this decision is made.

Make Your Opinion Heard.

The Council may make a decision on Highlands Park in Monday night’s meeting.  If you have an opinion either way on this topic, I highly encourage you to attend the Council Meeting and let the members of our Council know how you feel.  Also, register your opinion in the following poll:

 Loading ...

Because once the money is gone, it’s gone….

How Safe Are We in San Carlos?

San Carlos is known for being a relatively safe community.  It’s one of the big reasons that people choose to settle here and raise families — it’s still very much a “bedroom community” that until recently enjoyed relative obscurity.   When I used to work in Silicon Valley, most people I talked with had no idea where San Carlos was even located!  And that’s fine for most residents of San Carlos — a big part of the charm of this city is that it has been a hidden gem on the Peninsula for many years.

But the public safety of San Carlos isn’t something we can take for granted anymore, especially during this period of financial crisis.    Have you gotten the feeling recently that there are more crimes being reported in San Carlos?  Do you know someone who has been a victim of a crime in San Carlos?  It’s not your imagination that crime is on the uptick — because it is.

“Part 1 Crimes” Increased by 25% in 2009.

In tonight’s San Carlos City Council Meeting, Police Chief Greg Rothaus will present some alarming statistics to the City Council in his Annual Report on Police Services.  In a period of time where our police budget is being slashed, headcount reduced, and services being outsourced, Part 1 Crimes (murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, arson, and motor vehicle theft) have increased by 25% from 2008.   Here’s the graphic that he will present this evening:

With the huge budget deficit that the Council must resolve this year, there’s no guarantee that police services won’t be slashed further.  To download Chief Rothaus’ complete report, click here:  San Carlos Police Report-2009

Fire Department Update

In tonight’s Council meeting, Fire Chief Douglas Fry will also be presenting his quarterly update to the Council and City Manager.  The Fire Department has fared a bit better in the funding area, as they have recently secured grants that will enable them to upgrade their radio system to be compliant with FCC mandates.  But department staffing and equipment allocation remains a big concern within the Department, because it has a direct impact on speed and quality of their response.

You’re probably aware of the fatal home fire that happened just a few days ago in Devonshire Canyon.  According to a source close to City Hall, Chief Fry will also discuss this incident in detail at this evening’s Council Meeting, with the current budget cuts as the underlying theme.  Should be a very compelling presentation.

If You’re Interested…

Tonight’s City Council meeting starts at 7:00 PM at the San Carlos City Hall, 600 Elm Street.    The meeting is open to the public.