As if the question of whether to privatize Menlo Park’s child care programs isn’t divisive enough, City Council members last week argued about the process they should use in deciding the issue.
At the council’s May 16 meeting, council members Kelly Fergusson and Andy Cohen called for the city to delay any move toward privatization until the city determines the exact costs of the current child care programs, but council members Nicholas Jellins, Mickie Winkler and Lee Duboc voted against the request.
Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Cohen said they are dissatisfied with the fast-track process outlined by Assistant City Manager Audrey Seymour to seek and review bids from operators interested in taking over the city’s toddler, preschool and school-age child care programs based at the city’s new Menlo Children’s Center.
In April, staff had said the process for studying proposals, conducting hearings and, potentially, putting the program in private hands, would take eight to 16 months.
But at last week’s meeting, Ms. Seymour introduced a timeline that sped up the bidding and decision-making processes, making it possible for the current council to decide on privatizing the programs before the November 7 elections.
According to the new timeline, the city will submit a request for proposals by June 14, and the council could greenlight negotiations with a private operator by September 21.
City Manager David Boesch said the programs could be transferred to a private operator by January.
The November elections could change the makeup — and the political leaning — of the council. The terms of Mayor Jellins, Ms. Winkler and Ms. Duboc, who usually vote together on major issues on the consistently divided council, expire in December. They have not announced whether they will run for re-election.
Earlier this year after only a month of discussion, the council majority voted to privatize the city’s new $6.8 million aquatics center — a 3-2 decision that angered many in the community and has made privatization a hot-button issue in town.
‘Limited pie’
Ms. Winkler and Ms. Duboc said the city shouldn’t be covering the costs of programs that serve a small percentage of Menlo Park families. The two Burgess-based programs serve a combined 160 children.“There’s a limited pie, and there’s only so many ways we can share it,” Ms. Duboc said.
Both council members questioned the wide time frame given to the process of privatizing the programs presented at the council’s April 19 meeting, but applauded the new timeline.
Ms. Duboc said the new timeline shows voters — who may be asked to vote on a tax measure November 7 — that the city is working quickly to save money by considering privatization.
She also said the city will cut employee costs within the program and at the administrative level if the programs are privatized.
Undefined costs
Ms. Fergusson and Mr. Cohen told the Almanac that the city is yet to determine the benefits of privatizing the programs, but Ms. Winkler and Ms. Duboc want to “rush” the process so that an agreement to privatize can be made before the election.“We leap to solutions without defining what the problem is,” Ms. Fergusson said. “We need to have the budget numbers before we know what the problem is.”
Ms. Fergusson said the city should wait for the results of a cost-allocation study that will begin in July, and assess how efficiently the city’s programs run.
The estimated net cost of the programs — what the city pays after revenues are recovered — has shifted in recent weeks. Newly revealed savings and fee increases are expected to reduce the costs more than $200,000 a year.
The previous estimated net cost was $444,000 a year. Ms. Seymour said she doesn’t know the latest estimated costs.
A 10-person volunteer committee of parents, child care specialists, appointed officials and Ms. Seymour will determine if a rental payment to occupy the new children’s center is an important factor in choosing a potential operator.
The same committee will create the request for proposals and evaluate the potential operators. The city will also submit a bid to continue running the programs.
Union is watching
Representatives from the Service Employees International Union Local 715, which represents the city’s 20 child care employees, is watching the privatization debate “very carefully,” according to SEIU Worksite Organizer Sascha Eisner.In April, Mr. Eisner said the union would actively campaign against council members who support privatization and are running for re-election.
“Some council members have made it pretty clear they want to privatize city services,” Mr. Eisner said. “Some people just believe in the private sector model, and I don’t think they should be governing the public sector.”
The council devoted a substantial portion of its debate to whether to even vote on the new timeline. Ms. Duboc moved to approve the timeline, but Mayor Jellins and Ms. Winkler said there was no need to vote on the matter.
Ms. Duboc withdrew her motion, but Ms. Fergusson moved to stop further exploration of privatizing the child care programs. Mr. Cohen supported Ms. Fergusson, even though in April, he said he was willing to consider privatization as a means to cut the city’s costs.
