CONSULTANTS SAVE CITY MONEY TREASURER: 'WE'RE A LEAN ORGANIZATION' COMPARED TO OTHER CITIES.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE

Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- Hundreds of bureaucrats occupy desks at Santa Clarita City Hall, but unseen freelancers, who are cumulatively paid millions for their expertise, toil off site.

The city says hiring consultants and other vendors for projects beyond the scope of staff members helps trim costs.

"We're a lean organization compared to other, similarly sized communities," said Darren Hernandez, the city's treasurer. "When we have a big project, we don't add a lot of staff; we contract out the work to the private sector."

In most cases, projects and contracts end together. Contracts costing more than $50,000 must be approved by the City Council.

In 2006, roughly 43 vendors were on the books, some for multiyear projects. They specialized in everything from engineering surveys to public opinion polls, from designing graphics to designing trails. The outstanding contract balance was about $2.1 million, and roughly $295,000 was paid. The remaining balance on the contracts is about $1.8 million.

The city's parks department often relies on consultants to help create designs for parks and trails, and it hires construction companies to build them. The contractor who renovated play areas at Santa Clarita and Valencia Glen parks was paid about $200,000 last year, said Tom Reilly, the city's parks development administrator.

The city attorney is also a hired gun, and his firm, Burke, Williams & Sorensen LLP, provides a roster of legal experts to defend the city's interests in lawsuits. An open-ended contract signed with the firm in the fall of 1998 paid out $2.9 million in the fiscal year ending in June 2006, and about $1 million so far in 2007.

A pair of Washington, D.C.-based lobbying firms fight the city's battles in Congress. Jamison and Sullivan Inc. was paid $98,500 last year plus expenses, and Murray, Montgomery and O'Donnell were paid $60,000 plus expenses.

Lawyers, lobbyists and consultants likely helped turn the tide in the city's $8 million battle against the 56.1-million-ton Cemex mine in Soledad Canyon, which resulted in a timeout while options are considered.

The city's annual budget is about $225 million. Its population in 2000 was 151,088, and its estimated population in 2006 was 177,418.

As a contract city, Santa Clarita pays the county to provide fire and sheriff's services and maintains franchise contracts for trash collection.

By contrast, charter cities such as Burbank and Glendale provide their own police, fire, utility, landfill, city attorney and trash collection services. Charters of many older communities sought to protect residents by creating self-sufficiency.

Glendale, which has an annual budget of about $650 million, outsources a number of services and has enterprise departments, which are essentially stand-alone businesses.

Glendale's population in 2000 was 194,973.

"We firmly believe having our own police and fire department gives us an opportunity to be very connected to the needs of the community, very engaged with the community, so we can be sensitive to changes in the community," said Bob McFall, Glendale's assistant city manager.

Among the city's enterprise departments, which are funded by the costs of their services and which funnel extra funds into the general fund, are electric, water and sewer utilities, a recreation company, parking garages, meters and waste hauling.

McFall said the city regularly revisits its plan and relies on ongoing independent analyses to confirm the decision.

Noting the blend works for Glendale, he said contracting for many services is a legitimate solid option for other towns.

Hernandez, Santa Clarita's treasurer, noted that the city has never had layoffs.

"If you no longer have a need for the work, you don't need to lay someone off," he said. "You don't have a bloated staff; you just end the contract."

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