Council Persuaded to Reconsider Managed Competition

Worried about losing their jobs to the private sector, about 200 city employees appeared at a City Council meeting to tell city leaders that no one could do their work better than they can.

And their pleas to maintain in-house city services were, in fact, convincing, council members said.

For months, the council has been exploring the possibility of implementing managed competition in city government, a process that sends public services out to bid by private companies and the city itself. But after hearing hours of testimony from city employees Tuesday, council members said they aren’t certain anymore that managed competition is the way to go.

City employees who spoke at the meeting maintained that private companies would not take pride in the city the same way city workers do. They cited instances in which city employees had gone beyond the call of duty, such as when a street-sweeping crew left a city Christmas party on a minute’s notice to clear branches that had fallen on streets during a windstorm.

“We’ve walked with the city in good times and in bad,” said Dennis Ruvolo, who works in the city’s animal control division and is president of the Irvine City Employees Assn. “We’ve taken on more responsibility with the downsizing in 1994, and the majority of employees have not seen a raise in five years.”

“All we hear is how much we cost the city, not how much we’ve done,” Ruvolo said as the employees packed inside council chambers clapped and gave him a standing ovation. The council members said they are not looking at managed competition because of unhappiness with city employees’ performance. Rather, managed competition would ensure that Irvine residents receive the highest level of service at the lowest cost.

Councilman Mike Ward said city workers do such a good job providing the most efficient services that he believes they would win the bids.

“I don’t think the private sector has a snowball’s chance in hell. I would be absolutely astonished if you don’t win 85% to 90% of the bids, flabbergasted,” Ward told the employees.

But Councilman Dave Christensen asked: “If we truly believe our employees are providing the best possible service for the lowest cost, why are we wasting our time with this?”

The council agreed to delay making any decisions about implementing managed competition but directed staff to hold study sessions with the city’s employee associations.

The council is expected to revisit the issue in July.