Council to weigh in on outsourcing some jobs
Source: By Jennifer Vigil, San Diego Union Tribune (CA), February 27, 2006
Outsourcing has become a buzzword in cash-strapped San Diego. ...... A form of it – managed competition, which would pit public employees against private firms – has become a key piece of what Mayor Jerry Sanders calls his “reform agenda at City Hall,” portions of which will be reviewed by the City Council at 2 p.m. today. A city street-repair program hints at what managed competition in San Diego could be like. The task fell to contracted crews two years ago, when 16 city employees were laid off. It later was found that the costs of paying private firms to do the work could exceed those generated by city employees by $1.9 million. ..... Joan Raymond, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 127, which would represent the workers, said some city divisions already have programs in place to ensure their costs are in line with industry standards.