City unions may be bidding against private contractors for city jobs.
The concept is called managed competition.
It is done so taxpayer money is better spent, and Mayor James Fiorentini, who is on the lookout for ways to streamline city government and create new ways to save money without eliminating jobs, has become well-informed on this way of managing city services.
During this time of fiscal constraint, Fiorentini says it's important to look at processes behind government to determine what could work better.
"Managed competition was done successfully in Indianapolis many years ago and it resulted in lots of savings. Closer to home, it has been done in Springfield, although it is harder in Massachusetts because of the prevailing wage law," said Fiorentini.
In Massachusetts, private contractors must meet certain wage guidelines if hired to perform city services.
Embracing this idea does not automatically mean eliminating work traditionally done by local unions.
"You invite the union and provide support for it to out-perform a bid presented by a private contractor," Fiorentini said.
With managed competition, a municipality invites a private contractor to submit a bid for a needed service. The city then encourages the local union and, in some cases, hires a consultant to assist the union in providing a bid.
City Purchasing Agent Robert DeFusco explained it this way: "The city's challenge is to make sure the consultant is there so the union bid contains everything it needs. For example, all labor costs must be accounted for."
Asked what sort of departmental services could fit under this style of government, the mayor cited tree removal, pothole patching, pavement marking and small street paving jobs.
DeFusco sees managed competition as a valuable tool to evaluate the various processes a municipality has been using for its services over a period of time.
If, for example, certain ways of doing things are not working and are wasting money, then the way things are done has to change. Managed competition demonstrates how a city can cooperatively work with local unions to make them more efficient.
"Unions might not understand the model, so you bring them into the model by providing assistance ... helping out. This is very important because you are not trying to eliminate jobs. You are trying to make jobs more efficient," Fiorentini said.
With city government feeling an economic pinch to offer vital services like trash collection, public safety, education and basic road work, managed competition could present a more cost-effective way to spend taxpayer dollars, making city government more effective.
