Here’s our latest post at California City News:
Priorities, Core Services, Noble Causes…
A guest article from BOLT Staffing especially for CaliforniaCityNews
Local government—some call it the last bastion of direct democracy, where any citizen can voice a need or a concern and be close enough to government to see their local elected body respond accordingly. It’s how our system is supposed to work—but there’s a thin line between being a proactive council that is responsive to citizen concerns, and diverting vital municipal resources away from providing core services.
And this is why Backyard Beekeeping in LA caught our eye.
The Los Angeles City Council recently directed staff to prepare a report reviewing local zoning laws and possibly allowing backyard bee keeping within the city limits.
There are those (let’s call them the anti-bees) who say Los Angeles has more pressing issues to address, such as street and sidewalk repair, crime, or maintaining city parks. Wouldn’t devoting staff time to these issues help more citizens than the extra staff time that the bees might require? Given the nature of neighborhood disputes in local government, an issue like beekeeping is almost guaranteed to tie up a lot of council and staff resources (How many hives? On what size yard? What about apartment-dwellers? What if the neighbor is allergic?). How much of a limited resource (staff time) should be devoted to proportionally tiny percentages of the public?
The pro-bees response is that while beekeeping is practiced by only a few, the benefits are wide-ranging (indeed, universal). Bee populations are plummeting due to the poorly understood Colony Collapse Disorder (CDD), which threatens the production of crops dependent on bees for pollination as well as honey production. The Department of Agriculture estimates that pollination is responsible for $15 billion in added crop value. In that view, beekeeping isn’t a fringe issue –- it’s a noble cause and a priority that has wide-ranging impacts.
Yes, say the anti-bees, but consider this: As new issues arise, many cities look to what their fellow municipalities are doing. A quick review of California cities that have addressed residential bee keeping shows a wide range of municipal responses, ranging from outright bans on bee keeping to allowing residential beekeeping without even needing a permit. A big red caution flag should go up when so many cities address an issue in different ways, because it shows that there is no “best practice” to regulating the action. This, say the anti-bees, is a code enforcement nightmare waiting to happen. Los Angeles has more pressing issues to attend to.
Solid points provided by both sides. Up north, the City of Berkeley, long famous for embracing causes and issues outside of standard municipal prevue, has recently proposed an ordinance that would attempt to limit the number of items any individual council member can submit for each meeting. Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates, who proposed the limits on agenda items, said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, “Given the limited time and money we have, I think we need to start prioritizing.”
So while Berkeley, of all places, looks to limit and prioritize, Los Angeles looks to expand and explore. Could both cities be on the right track?
Policy makers decide which causes or issues to address but staff is left with the burden of actually producing results. Does the providing of core services suffer because of “pet projects” of local politicians, or are our cities and counties better places to live because of forwarding thinking councils?
Noble causes are never going to go away, nor should they. Citizens expect local government to be responsive to their needs and concerns in a way that they would never expect from Sacramento or Washington DC. But whose responsibility is it to provide balance? Can staff find ways to be supportive of their elected bodies while still providing core services?
Maybe taking care of bees today is the best thing we can do for our tomorrow, or maybe the bees will have to wait until today’s more pressing issues are addressed.
How does your city or county staff handle unanticipated workloads from your elected boards? Do you bring in extra staff? Have you ever just told your elected body that you didn’t have the staffing levels to handle the extra work load? Do core services ever suffer because of special projects?
At BOLT Staffing we believe that positive change and innovation is a good thing. We partner every day with cities, counties, and special districts providing them with both long term and short term staffing solutions that are cost effective, productive, and solution oriented. We invite your comments below.
