The results are in and city employees have come out the winners in San Diego’s first attempt at outsourcing. But cuts had to be made to get the contract.
The $3.56-million a year contract was to operate San Diego’s Publishing Services Department. But the win comes at the expense of 12 positions, about half of the department’s workforce.
Eight of those positions were vacant, but four were filled and it’s not certain what will happen to those employees.
Still, city leaders applauded the deal, which will save San Diego $5 million over five years. Councilman Todd Gloria said the savings are good, but that outsourcing won’t solve all of the city’s problems.
“Oversight of these contracts will be absolutely critical going forward,” Gloria said. “The people of San Diego can count on this council to make sure that oversight is provided.”
Gloria said the outcome of this process shows city employees provide excellent service to the city. The Publishing Services staff was competing with five private companies for the department’s contract.
Mayor Jerry Sanders said the competition was good for the department.
“I think this says something about the power of competition to motivate people to think creatively about how they can accomplish their objectives most efficiently and deliver the best value to taxpayers,” Sanders said.
