The Downside to Local Government Downsizing

Downsizing is a term that can make a CEO’s heart leap with joy, especially when the downsizing is accompanied by increased productivity and applause from the shareholders.

But when applied to local government, downsizing is having some undesirable consequences--and not all of the shareholders (read that “property owners” or “taxpayers” or “citizens”) are thrilled with everything that downsizing has brought.

Take Fullerton as an example. With a population of 123,000, it’s a typical mid-size Orange County city with high-income areas (some bordering on posh), some low-income neighborhoods and lots of middle-class neighborhoods.

Fullerton began downsizing city government 10 years ago. The city now has 77 fewer employees that it had in 1976, although its population has increased 30% since then.

Downsizing began in earnest with the 1991-92 city budget, as cutbacks in state and federal funding reduced municipal resources. The process was accelerated by a declining economy and state “raids” on traditional sources of city revenue: gasoline tax, property tax, etc. The current city budget shows a reduction of nearly $5 million in generating operating funds from five years ago.

Budget figures seldom excite property owners. But they are fervid in complaining about unrepaired streets, trees that have gone untrimmed for years and old water mains that explode in front of their homes.

Fullerton city officials estimate that $11 million worth of reconstruction is needed on residential streets. However, the downsized city budget allots only $800,000 for this purpose.

In 1990 there were 32 employees in the city’s street division. Today there are 24.

The budget for sidewalk repair this year is $40,000. City staff estimate that more than $5 million in repairs are needed now to sidewalks and other pavement.

Although the 12 city workers who trim trees (down from 16 last year) respond quickly for a tree problem that poses a safety hazard, the typical city-owned tree will be trimmed only once every four years.

There are 504 miles of water mains in Fullerton; the average age of the pipes, around 40 years. A current survey of the city’s water system will determine which mains need to be replaced. Meanwhile, $600,000 is budgeted this year for main replacement. How far that will go is anyone’s guess.

For Fullerton, downsizing has meant a smaller budget, fewer city employees and less work on maintaining and replacing infrastructure.

As in every other Orange County city, critics of government abound. Forums for Fullerton City Council candidates have been replete with the usual anti-tax rhetoric and such a venomous cataloging of government sins that one could be forgiven for mistakenly believing it was an anarchists’ convention.

At a forum Oct. 21, council candidate Clifford Berning even suggested that taxes be paid only by those favoring them.

As for solutions to the problem of declining revenues and a continuing need to maintain and repair infrastructure, most candidates offer only generalized answers, such as “eliminate inefficiency, mismanagement and waste.” When asked to identify the waste and inefficiency, there is usually silence.

School districts face similar fiscal crunches. To implement the state’s program of reducing lower-grade class size to no more than 20 students, school districts asked the state for the money to create 14,000 new classrooms. But the state will provide money for only 7,725 classrooms.

Will our cities and schools crumble away? Unlikely, although the anti-tax, anti-government forces have enough clout to persuade city council members and school district trustees that such traditional remedies as bond issues and tax assessments would be political death.

But for the candidates who are able to convince voters that they can do more with less, a happy elective career lies ahead.

Gerald J. Brown is a community activist and retired journalist who writes from Fullerton.

Budget figures seldom excite property owners. But they are fervid in complaining about unrepaired streets, trees that have gone untrimmed for years and old water mains that explode in front of their homes.