Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 13, 1993 TAG: 9305130496
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY L. GARLAND
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Despite the hand wringing, the facts won't support a conclusion that any Virginia city is now certifiably in crisis. But it's by no means unlikely that one or two will have arrived at that point within a few years, while several others experience palpable stress.
Mindful that numerous General Assembly commissions have studied local-government problems ad infinitum without accomplishing very much, it is with humility that my own list of municipal dos and don'ts is offered:
DON'T expect external salvation; you're very much on your own.
While the General Assembly offers ample scope for coalition-building and vote-swapping, the political influence of the larger cities has very much declined - and will be further reduced by each succeeding census.
The most generous interpretation that can be placed on the term "city legislator" puts their number at 26 out of 100 in the House of Delegates and 13 out of 40 in the state Senate.
In the last presidential election, cities over 50,000 cast just 24 percent of the vote, compared with 41 percent for the suburbs.
DO everything in your power to maintain a balance between taxpayers and tax consumers.
You can't get America to understand it, but success or failure generally comes down to a question of whether you have good politics or bad politics. A debased politics of fractious interests, intent upon extracting more from the system than they contribute to it, will destroy the sinews of civic virtue.
One of the first principles of economics was "bad money drives out good," and we see that every time a nation experiences hyperinflation. It's equally true in politics: Bad citizens drive out good. In America, you can't stop people from voting with their feet.
Liberals so loved the poor that they wanted to congregate them all together. They suckered the cities into serving as repositories for the social ills of the nation. But they never came through with the dough to cover all the costs. Well, cities, you've done your part, DO let the cup pass.
It's late in the day for several of our cities, where incompetents and demagogues already grasp levers of power, but DO pay more attention to your local politics.
Those with a property stake in the community must do a better job of political organizing, flushing out sound candidates for office, and backing them with dollars and shoe leather. In most municipal elections, turnout is low, and those who are organized and focused enjoy important advantages.
DON'T raise local tax rates except in a true emergency. It's not that the cities haven't a host of things they could use, or that municipal employees shouldn't expect reasonable compensation. But there are three good reasons for holding the line.
First, your taxes are already generally higher than surrounding suburban areas, and you must stay competitive in attracting and holding property owners. Second, cities with the highest tax rates are already experiencing the slowest revenue growth, and much of cities' older commercial property is already assessed at far more than true market value. Third, whatever new taxes you impose will quickly be sopped up by higher fixed costs that will have to be sustained.
While you must pay the market to keep competent municipal workers, DO test that market before accepting the logic that you must grant certain fixed raises every year. Not everybody in the private sector gets them.
DO remember, it's the fringe benefits that eat you alive, and your workers give little credit for these costs. If you must give way on wages, at least take something back on the fringe. With your revenues rising only 2 or 3 percent a year now, there's no way you can afford double-digit increases every year for employee health benefits.
DO consider alternatives to business as usual. For most municipal employees, retirment below age 62 is ridiculous. And the local-government pension plus Social Security should aim to replace no more than two-thirds of an employee's final gross salary .
DO look for new ideas in health insurance. If your system doesn't require a fairly high deductible, put one in. You might also consider self-insurance for medical outlays below $15,000 a year joined with "wellness incentives" for employees. These could take the form of bonuses for those who use the system least. With hospitals now offering outpatient clinics all over town, what about contracting for the delivery of basic services ?
It might be nice if the legislature would grant a statewide local income-tax that would broaden your revenue base, but that's not going to happen. Nor would it necessarily be a bonanza for cities. Their internal politics would likely force the new money to be thrown in the pot, while the more informed politics of suburbia dictated that it be used to reduce property taxes.
But DO press relentlessly for fair, uniform taxes on cigarettes, lodging and restaurant meals, collected by the state and remitted to localities.
Finally, DO search in every nook for economies. Every large city should bring in outside management consultants to examine all aspects of their operations. Integral to that should be an assessment of all possibilities for contracting with private firms for the delivery of municipal services.
Ray L. Garland is a Roanoke Times & World-News columnist.
by CNB