SAN FERNANDO : Maintenance Change Gets Mixed Reaction

A proposal to create a new city division to streamline the maintenance of municipal buildings, such as City Hall and the police station, has met with mixed reactions from council members.

One council member saw the proposal as a cost-cutting measure that could potentially save the city thousands of dollars, while another called it a move to dislodge a division from the city’s Recreation and Community Services Department.

“I see that we’re dismantling the parks department,” Councilman Jose Hernandez said during a budget workshop Tuesday. “It seems to me it’s a step backwards.”

Councilman Doude Wysbeek said the proposal is in keeping with the council’s wishes to have city staff search for ways to save money by consolidating functions.

“I’ve harped on consolidated maintenance as the most effective way to run a business,” Wysbeek said. “We constantly have to look for efficiency.”

Council members, who are in the middle of reviewing the city’s preliminary $18.3-million budget for fiscal year 1993-94, say they need more time to study the proposal before voting on it.

Under the proposal, the city would create a facilities maintenance division to consolidate contracts and services for the maintenance of city facilities. The division, which could save up to $150,000 annually, would be placed under the Public Works Department, city officials said.

Maintenance services are now handled by three departments: police, public works and recreation and community services.