Smaller Deficit, Bigger Choices

Menlo Park fiscal woes are shrinking, but city staff is still asking city leaders to make structural changes — outsourcing especially — that will bring the city into a positive financial future.

In a budget study session Tuesday night, staff told that the city's 2010-11 fiscal deficit has shrunk from the $468,676 adopted deficit to $116,763 — a drop attributed to significant cost reductions and "advanced recognition of personnel cost savings anticipated from vacancies," according to Tuesday's staff report.

To remain solvent and build of recent efforts, however, staff recommended further outsourcing, namely in custodial services and parks maintenance. told council members Tuesday that over the last two years, city emptied janitors have dropped from six to three "though a contract approach" that has shown an acceptable level of service. Staff also recommended the city find a private operator to maintain the 13 miles of city medians, the center islands on several Menlo Park park streets. 

Council Member Kelly Fergusson raised the staunchest objections to any outsourcing, stating that the city always seems to target the same group of employees.

"I do not understand why we go after these position for contraction out," she said during the study session.

Staff also sees opportunities in contracting out services in , landscaping in the city's parks and facilities, internet technology and youth and adult sports. At one point , the city was weighing private operators to take over parking enforcement and sports fields maintenance. But that city has pulled those ideas from the table.

Final plans for any of the recommendations will be adopted with the final 2011-12 budget, set currently for a council meeting in mid-June. According to the staff report, a hypothetical process for sending a request for proposal would take 90 days, in which the unions would be notified and employees would be laid off.