PT Barnum was called the greatest showman ever born.  Often referred to as the “Prince of Humbugs”, Barnum saw nothing wrong in entertainers or vendors using hype (or “humbug“, as he termed it) in promotional material, as long as the public was getting value for money.

Before we get to details about Barnum – let’s start with where we agree: A well-functioning police force is something we all want, need, and should not accept sub-standard service.  San Carlos is a wonderful place to live for many reasons: great schools, the parks people love, the sense of community, our great downtown,  and our safe community. There are many things a city does or contracts for: water treatment is via JPA while the city maintains sewers, garbage and recycling are done via JPA,  major road maintenance is via contract, minor is via city staff and a mountain of other services.

While everyone agrees public safety is a high priority – we are engaged in a debate on how this service is delivered.  Some claim any change from the way we deliver safety services today will be negative.  We are in a process of determining those issues and the consequences (positive and negative) if the service model is changed.  Change is always hard and is questioned. But in a time of scarce funding, it must be examined closely.

While folks are entitled to their own opinions, they are not entitled to their own facts.  Let’s review a few:

FACT: The city is enduring revenue shortfalls and has been cutting the budget for the last 10 years
FACT: The city dipped into reserves last year to allow voters a chance to increase revenues
FACT: The city reserves are nearly depleted
FACT: Four times, the voters have had revenue measures placed before them which were rejected. (2003-2009, 6 years).  Is it fair to repeatedly ask? Or should we just acknowledge the question has been asked – and clearly answered?
FACT: The cost of MAINTAINING our police force at current levels has grown significantly
FACT: San Carlos has a hard time retraining/recruiting police officers because the compensation is lower than neighboring jurisdictions.

I am continually asked by concerned community members, “I live within my means, why can’t the city?”

If your home is too expensive, you look for something less expensive.  If your car costs too much to drive, you look for something else.  While the notion of mandates (and especially unfunded mandates) is a topic for later discussion, most will agree just about everything costs more than it did yesterday.  Gas costs more, electricity costs more, health insurance costs more, pensions cost more, and employees cost more.  As a city we are doing more than we did previously, and thanks to mandates passed by both state and federal governments, we do them with no added funds to cover the costs.

How can the city spend money it doesn’t have?

Simply put, we can’t.  This council is taking strong action to bring reason to the city’s spending.

I have stated consistently there can be no sacred cows when we look at our budget.

There are real concerns of moving to a contract services for police which need detailed answers  – that’s why we have hired outside help to craft our requirements for what an appropriate service would be.  I encourage those with legitimate questions to ask them and recognize there is a process underway to ensure all those questions will be answered.  San Carlos has a special sense of community which should be maintained in the best possible form we can afford.

There are a few folks who have stated through a proposed ballot initiative: regardless of cost, don’t touch anything! To be clear, this group has neither offered any way to pay for services nor will they.  Their slogans are based in fear and their solutions are based on thin air.  Even Barnum would be ashamed of these tactics.