core services copyright 2010, palm beach county taxpayer action board a government big enough to...

CORE SERVICES

Copyright 2010, Palm Beach County Taxpayer Action Board

A GOVERNMENT BIG ENOUGH

TO GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU WANT,

IS BIG ENOUGH TO TAKE AWAY

EVERYTHING YOU HAVE.

--THOMAS JEFFERSON


What are core services?

Services the county is required by law to provide

CORE SERVICES

Can these all be core services?


Fox Business 7/16/2010

For decades, state and local governments across the U.S. have conceded to the insatiable demands of both their constituents and the public employee unions whose contracts they negotiate and ultimately approve.


DON’T GIVE IN TO INSATIABLE DEMANDS


Fox Business 7/16/2010

The result has been unprecedented levels of service delivered through

ever-expanding layers of government bureaucracy.


Primary Obligation to Taxpayers not County Employees

An elected county official commented that his primary obligation as an elected official was to the taxpayers and rate payers of the county. His primary obligation is not to county employees, despite his close relationship with many of them. (Fox Business 7/16/2010)


The Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties

The writing has been on the wall for some time warning elected officials that a financial reckoning was just around the corner.

The politicians have reflexively indulged a “compulsion or a need to respond to constituent

requests.”


Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, said the writing has been on the wall for some time warning elected officials that a financial reckoning was just around the corner.The politicians, he said, have reflexively indulged what Acquario described as a “compulsion or a need to respond to constituent requests.”

Executive Director of the New York State Association of Counties

“We’re starting to ask ourselves at the county government level just what are the core services that county government should be providing. We can’t be all things to all people.”


The question for County Commissioners is no longer what services and amenities citizens would like to have


CHANGE IS NEEDED

Decisions now need to be made on the basis of what the county is required to

provide by law


GO BACK TO THE BASICS


Palm Beach County is not alone

Virtually every other county in Florida is facing the same problems:

Hillsborough

Broward

Miami-Dade

And the list goes on and on


Hillsborough County

County Administrator: “…our greatest singular opportunity as a community [is] to clarify the role and mission of local government in providing services to our residents.”


Hillsborough County

Some of their proposed solutions:

• Merging three departments into one

• Merge and integrate administrative, financial and human resources into a single Management Support Unit for three departments.

• Eliminated Debt Management Department by a joint agreement with the Clerk of the Circuit Court


Whatcom County, WA

Their County Executive said:

We must take a long, hard look at the core operations of County government, enhance those services that work and serve our residents and divest our government of those services that are simply no longer cost-effective or possible.


Palm Beach County

It is time to face reality and make the hard decisions


EASY MONEY BLINDED THE COUNTY TO ITS CORE MISSION


WHAT CAN WE DO?


2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

? ? ? ? ?

TAB PROPOSALS

IDENTIFY CORE SERVICES TO

DISTINGUISH THEM FROM

DISCRETIONARY SERVICES AND

FUNDING


LET’S GET TO WORK


TAB PROPOSALS

THREE CATEGORIES OF CORE SERVICES

• MANDATED BY LAW

• ESSENTIAL TO HEALTH AND SAFETY AND NOT OTHERWISE AVAILABLE

• ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPORT SERVICES FOR THE ABOVE


TAB PROPOSALS

ALL OTHER PROGRAMS AND SERVICES ARE

DISCRETIONARY


TAB PROPOSALS

SPENDING ON CORE SERVICES ALSO NEEDS ANALYSIS

• ARE THE SERVICES BEING PROVIDED IN THE MOST EFFICIENT AND COST EFFECTIVE MANNER?

• ARE THEY SERVICES WHICH CAN BE PROVIDED THROUGH OUTSIDE SOURCES AT A LOWER COST?


OTHER STRATEGIES TO CONSIDER

RATHER THAN CUTTING A CORE SERVICE, CAN FEE OPTIONS

ALLOW IT TO BE SELF SUSTAINING OR CAN IT BE

PROVIDED THROUGH ANOTHER SOURCE?


OTHER STRATEGIES

CAN COSTS BE REDUCED THROUGH OUTSIDE

CONTRACTING, PARTNERSHIPS WITH OTHERS, COMBINING

DEPARTMENTS OR SERVICES OR OTHER ARRANGEMENTS?


OTHER STRATEGIES

COMPARE COMPENSATION PACKAGES BETWEEN COUNTY

EMPLOYEES AND OUTSIDE RESOURCES CAPABLE OF PROVIDING THE SERVICE


OTHER STRATEGIES

CONSIDER IMPACT OF PENSION PROGRAM OBLIGATION IMPACTS ON FUTURE COUNTY BUDGETS WHEN COMPARING COUNTY WORKERS

PROVIDING A SERVICE VS. A PRIVATE SOURCE


OTHER STRATEGIES

ADOPTION OF POLICY TO NOT WAIVE FEES, e.g. IMPACT FEES, IN

THE FUTURE


OTHER STRATEGIES

LOBBY AND ADVOCATE REVOCATION OF UNFUNDED

FEDERAL AND STATE MANDATES


OTHER STRATEGIES

IDENTIFY AND ELIMINATE DUPLICATION OF SERVICES WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, e.g. code enforcement, licensing, etc.


OTHER STRATEGIES

CONSIDER DOING BUDGET PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT ON

A BIENNIAL BASIS


OTHER STRATEGIES

REQUIRE BUDGET DECISIONS TO BE CONSISTENT WITH A LONG

RANGE PLAN


CORE SERVICES SUMMARY

• ELIMINATE DISCRETIONARY COSTS IN 2011 TO EXTENT POSSIBLE

• ADOPT A MOTION TO DIRECT COUNTY STAFF TO UNDERTAKE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF CORE SERVICES FOR 2012 BUDGET


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