CA: Mayor launches 6-month effort to fix 'broken' government (San Diego)

SAN DIEGO – Mayor Jerry Sanders said Tuesday he was launching a six-month effort to streamline and reorganize a city government he said was "broken and badly in need of repair."

Sanders, the city's first "strong" mayor under a new form of government that took effect Sunday, outlined a plan to review the city's contracts, personnel, information technology and administration to look for ways to cut costs and fix problems.

"I've been on the job now for 28 days and one thing has become clear to me: San Diego's government systems are broken and they are badly in need of repair," Sanders said.

The mayor said city managers don't know how many contracts the city holds, how many management-level employees not covered by a union contract are on the payroll, what property the city owns or how much rent it collects each month.

"The existence of any one of these issues is inexcusable. The fact that they all exist is quite literally beyond belief," Sanders said. "They've come as a result of years of neglect."

The mayor said he would ask the city's middle and top managers to submit their resignations this week, something he promised during the campaign. He said he expects about one-third of those employees would eventually lose their jobs after a review of city services is completed.

"I think it sends an important message to our work force: We serve at the pleasure of the taxpayer and we have to be effective," Sanders said.

Sanders said significant changes would be made in the next six months to make city government more efficient and effective. He said the city is basing many of its reforms on reorganizations undertaken by the Navy and San Diego County government.

As of Jan. 1, the city has shifted to a strong-mayor form of government, which makes the mayor the city's chief executive officer with power to hire and fire personnel and prepare the city's budget.

After he was elected, Sanders presided over four City Council meetings. Under the new system, he no longer is a member of the council. The mayor now has veto power and will control the city's labor negotiations, although the council still approves employee contracts.

San Diego voters approved a charter amendment making the organizational change in November 2004. The change will be in place for at least a five-year trial period that ends in December 2010.

Sanders has said the new powers will help him get the troubled city back on track.

The city has no shortage of problems. It faces a $19 million budget shortfall, three overdue annual audits and investigations by the U.S. Attorney's Office and Securities and Exchange Commission into possible fraud and corruption related to a pension deficit of at least $1.4 billion.

The city's auditor has refused to sign off on San Diego's 2003 financial statements. Without a verified fiscal report card, the city has seen its credit ratings plummet. That has all but blocked San Diego from borrowing in the municipal bond market, leaving major projects in limbo.

During his mayoral campaign, Sanders said he planned to outsource jobs to save money, sell land and take on debt through bond sales to reduce the massive pension deficit.

On Tuesday, Sanders said every city service would undergo a top-down review over the next few years with the goal of making every city department more cost effective and more focused on customer service.

not sure exactly. , sounds like some councilmen preferred partying rather than doing their job, for one... and the watchdogs were sleeping, or ?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/probe/index.html

---

This is on the wire as well, a recap of the thread article.

San Diego mayor wants resignation letters from city's managers

The Associated Press

http://www.bakersfield.com/state_wire/story/5805422p-5821688c.html

SAN DIEGO (AP) - Newly elected Mayor Jerry Sanders said Tuesday that he wants the city's middle and top managers to submit their resignations this week as part of his plan to reorganize a "broken" city government.

Sanders said the goal is to eliminate one-third of the management positions that aren't covered by union contracts. The city doesn't know how many of these jobs there are due to the lack of a centralized personnel system.

"I've been on the job now for 28 days and one thing has become clear to me: San Diego's government systems are broken and they are badly in need of repair," Sanders said.

The mayor said city managers also don't know how many contracts the city holds, what property the city owns or how much rent it collects each month.

"The existence of any one of these issues is inexcusable. The fact that they all exist is quite literally beyond belief," Sanders said. "They've come as a result of years of neglect."

On Jan. 1, the city shifted to a strong-mayor form of government approved by voters in November 2004. The new system gives Sanders the power to hire and fire personnel and prepare the city's budget.

The mayor said his first priority is the city's financial health. The city faces a $19 million budget shortfall, three overdue annual audits and investigations by the U.S. attorney's office and Securities and Exchange Commission into possible fraud and corruption related to a pension deficit of at least $1.4 billion.

Sanders, a former San Diego police chief, had said he would demand the resignations from city management during his campaign against maverick City Councilwoman Donna Frye. He also said he planned to outsource jobs to save money, sell land and take on debt through bond sales to reduce the massive pension deficit.

Corruption. The city manager, the city council, the now ex-mayor even going back one administration became the pawns of the municipal unions. They deliberately underfunded the some of which benefited themselves. You could buy years of service to go towards your retirement. The more denials and cover-ups that came, the deeper trouble became. And to add on, multiple scandals exploded including a strip club bribery scheme which netted three city councilmen: one died before trial, two convicted with one having his verdict set aside by the judge.

Corruption

The time honored role of a free press is to expose corruption in government. Where was the local press during this episode which apparently took years to mature and ripen?

Was the mayor's revelation today of an almost total loss of accountability in municipal management the first instance the citizenship heard about it in the press?. Not the financial mismanagement but the municipal asset blindness. Apparently city hall doesn't even know how many adding machines they own or have leased, let alone street sweepers or fire trucks or employees.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.