Pathfinder in Government

California has nearly 5,000 local public agencies that perform all sorts of functions, from mosquito abatement and street lighting to running parks, ports and cemeteries. It’s a legacy of the Progressive era early in the 19th century, with its distrust of powerful local government dominated by political bosses. The California pattern, rare across the country, is economically inefficient, with each district having its own governing board and staff. But the social cost may be worse. Cities and counties, for example, are in charge of growth planning while independent special districts often make major transportation decisions. The agencies could coordinate their efforts, but that is all too unusual even when transportation decisions have a dramatic impact on growth.

Reform attempts have failed repeatedly. But San Diego County is about to embark on an experiment that may demonstrate that regional consolidation of agencies not only can be done but will work.

The impetus is a law by state Sen. Steve Peace (D-San Diego) that takes effect Jan. 1, creating an 11-member commission that will propose a plan for consolidating regional agencies.

In the 1970s, the city of San Diego pioneered what is now called “smart growth” by channeling new development to specific areas and retaining open spaces. But that had no impact on unincorporated suburban areas within San Diego County or in the county’s 18 other municipalities. Now, the county has grown to 3 million in population and is expected to add a million in the next 20 years.

The county has a multiplicity of overlapping local and regional governments. As a relatively isolated and compact region, however, it is a good model for consolidating agencies to better coordinate planning and growth and to preserve the region’s quality of life.

The new San Diego Regional Government Efficiency Commission will have six members representing existing local bodies, including the metropolitan transportation district, the port district and the San Diego Assn. of Governments. Five other members are to be appointed by the governor.

The commission faces a tough schedule, but some of the groundwork has been laid by a Joint Negotiating Team on Consolidation, formed by local agencies when Peace first proposed legislation to force change. Such commissions often are reluctant to grasp dramatic change because it means eliminating some agencies and reducing the power of others. Local officials want to protect their turf. But the San Diego commission can be a pathfinder for the rest of the state by recommending bold action across outdated and artificial jurisdictional lines.

Efficiency also is the goal of a new body created by Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks)--the Speaker’s Commission on Regions. Hertzberg has charged the group with studying the roles and responsibilities of local government to see what works and what does not.

We know that the system we have now does not work well. California needs to make this structure more efficient, more responsive to citizens and able to cope with rapid change in modern times. None of these groups should shrink from presenting the Legislature and voters with dramatic new concepts of governance.