Outsource initiative has morbid first outing
Source: Gerry Braun, San Diego Union Tribune (CA), August 6, 2008
......... The function of dead animal removal is being groomed for outsourcing to a private contractor. The council's limited role last week was to review what is called a "Statement of Work," a description of the services performed by Richeson, who said he makes about $19 an hour, and his fellow roadkill warriors. It was a rare public sighting of the process known around City Hall as "managed competition," under which Mayor Jerry Sanders has proposed that 16 city functions - an eclectic mix that ranges from graphic design to street sweeping - be placed on the auction block. ......... The Statement of Work, it turns out, is a stalking-horse in the power struggle between employee unions and managed-competition proponents. The simpler it is, the more attractive the contract will be to a private company. The more complex it becomes, the more money those companies will seek, increasing the odds that city employees keep their jobs. ........ The council was told, for example, that city workers will often return dead pets to their owners for burial, rather than tossing them in the landfill. And that while dead animals on private property are referred to a private contractor, city employees, in special cases, do help homeowners who are disabled or elderly.
........ These additional service standards were helpfully provided to the city by Damian Tryon, business manager for the union that represents Richeson.
....... Would the contractor's logs be available to the public? If they use city trucks, who pays for the insurance? If they break the law, who's accountable?