Agenda - Council - 03/24/1987 - Laserfiche WebLink

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10 / MLu~ement Information ~rvice Some local juri~cSons have official ,~ntrnct~ poll. cies. One juri~ction's (San Diego Com-,_ty) policy state~ that it may use contracts when it is leg~i, when $overn- meat employees c~nno~ perform the service, ~Kl/or when contracting is less expensive. The city of Phoenix divides its services into three ~roups for the pu_~-~ose of ~in$ the feasibility of conlractln~: · Services where control considerations are of greater importance than economy (e.g., bufldi~ i~pection and personnel security). These services are not contracted. · Services where coutrol and economy are of equal im- portance (e.g., material te~ting nnd ~x audits). These may be contracted if private provision is markedly less expensive than $overmnent prov~ion. · Services where economy is the prima~ concern (e.g., custodial services and parking metec repair). These services are contracted out if the private supply is less expensive than public provhion~ The federal government has an offici~d policy toward contracting commonly known a~ "A-76."' It is built on three precepts: · Rely on the private sector whenever lossible. It is not the government's business to be in business. · Certain functions are government fu~wtions. Govern- meat employees should be responsible for delivering · Economy is important. When gove~ ,u'nent provision is not an overriding concern then tt~e least cost pro- rider should be Pro- or nnti-conh-acling climates exist ~n n~any commu- nities. Lafayette, California contracts &Il services to pri- vate firms or other governments while o~.her communities perform most inhouse. It will be difficolt for a govern- ment to swim ~gair~t the tide in eithec case; however, the tide is rarely static. Every contract has to be sold to elected officials, the media, community, and city staff~ particularly department heads--if it. is to succeed. 81ze of OovegnmenL The size of govern~nenI as measured by. the number of ctnployees or doli~xs expended will shape a government's interest in contracting and mold the mnnner in which it approaches the subject. Local government, under 10,000 population for example, can capture economies of scale and management expertise that are available only in the larger ~overnments and f'mns by contracting for service. They will. also be able to draw on skills lacking in most smnI~ governments by tumin~ to contracting. On the other hand, small gov- ernments ~ probably need help in thc: contract process and may need help in contract monitoring. Large governments should be able to handle thc con- tract proems themselves. They shoul¢i also be able to structure thc delivery mechanism so that ~hcy ca~ create competition amon~ the private suppliers and between private suppUers and city employees. Large govern- menu ue likely to have more opportunity to contrta than ~nall $overnments because of the proximity tO more suppliers and the interest on the part of supplim in m'vins a larSe ~:ount. However, hrse Zovemments are likely to have more problems in switchin~ from pub- lic to privat~ provision than small governments because of the large role of unions, civ~ service commi~i_ons, and institutional rigidities. QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF If your local government has not contracted in the past, (and even if it has), there are a number of basic ques- tions to ask and issues to address before you get into a service contract, as you're formulating the contract, and while you're in a contracting s/tuation. This section presents a checklist of the type of infor- mation that should be collected and available to you. The collected information should help you determine the rationale for contracting, the strengths and wcak- ne~ses of contracting compared to other approaches in the delivery of local government services, and help pro- vide an evaluation of the criteria and constraints of contracting. General Information Checklist a. What is your local government's and community's political preference or policy toward contracting, if any? (Pro, con, neutral.) b. What pom'ble legal restrictions on contractini do you face? (Federal, state, local.) c. If thc service is provided inhouse, how will the em- ployee sit,_,~_'_tjon be handled? (Transfers, firings, attri- tion, contractor hires.) d. If you have not contracted services before, why do you want to switch to contracting? e. What situation, if any, is prompting the switch? f. What is the strength of the public employees union(s)? (Weak, stronz.) ~. W~nat will the unions' reaction be to contracting? h. W'dl the unions be included in contracting discus- sions from the begi_'nning? i. Docs your local government have a civil service com- mi.~ion?. If so, what is their stance or reaction to contracting? j. ~ you have small business or minority set-asides ~n your contracts?