City will reexamine its contracting ways

June Casagrande

NEWPORT BEACH -- In response to one activist’s allegation that the

city is operated less efficiently than any other in the county, officials

are looking for ways to decrease costs for some services without

compromising quality.

At the study session of their Nov. 12 meeting, City Council members

will look at staff recommendations on ways contractors could provide

cost-effective alternatives to providing services ranging from tree

trimming to legal assistance.

Armed with charts that suggest Newport Beach ranks last among Orange

County cities for using contractors’ services, Phil Arst argued to the

council last month that the city’s bottom line would benefit from

competitive bidding by contractors.

“All the other cities in Orange County use subcontracting in greater

degree and provide the same levels of service,” Arst said in a telephone

interview Wednesday.

He pointed to tree trimming as an example. The city reduced its

average cost for tree trimming from about $80 per tree to about $39,

according to Arst’s calculations.

Newport Beach used subcontractors less than any other for building

plan checks; legal, engineering and computer services; fleet maintenance;

graffiti removal; janitorial work; landscaping, park and street

maintenance; and trash collection, according to a 1993 study of 31 Orange

County cities that Arst updated.

Arst emphasized that police and fire services should not be

compromised in any way, but that the city manager could nonetheless hire

an efficiency consultant to examine those operations.

The city has responded, but with caution, to Arst’s charges. Mayor

Gary Adams asked staff to take a look at areas in which the city could

save money.

Some of Arst’s facts were inaccurate and out of date, said Assistant

City Manager Sharon Wood.

“We’re going to show that there’s a lot more contracting going on than

people are aware of,” Wood said. “Whether there needs to be more remains

to be seen.”

She said it’s too soon to say which city services are most likely to

be considered for privatization.

A strike last month by trash collectors, however, could bolster

arguments to maintain the status quo. While many Orange County cities

went without trash pickup, Newport Beach residents enjoyed uninterrupted

service because the city has its own trash collection service.

Arst brought up the privatization issue as part of his Greenlight

Committee’s battle against expansion of the Koll Center, a

250,000-square-foot project that’s the subject of the Nov. 20 special

election. Greenlight opponents have argued that the slow-growth measure

will make it harder for the city to find new revenue sources. Arst’s

efforts are designed to show that more efficient handling of funds is a

better way to improve the city’s economic picture.

“This lays to rest a claim that Greenlight would force a cutback in

city services,” Arst said.