SALINAS, Calif- When Governor Jerry Brown took office in January, one of his first orders of business was to eliminate some 48,000 state cell phones, at a savings of $20 million. The Governor said, "It is difficult for me to believe that 40 percent of all state employees must be equipped with taxpayer-funded cell phones." Brown went on to say, "The number of phones out there is astounding."
Central Coast News wanted to find out if local cities, struggling to balance their budget, could benefit from the same type of cutback. The Center for Investigative Action went to work, gathering cell phone bills from Monterey, Salinas and Monterey, and tallied the costs for 2010. Here's what we found:
City: Monterey
Total Phones: 230
2010 Cell Charges: $77,920
(Police & Fire: $17,431)
City: Salinas
Total Phones: 277
2010 Cell Charges: $102,968
(Police & Fire: $65,340)
City: Santa Cruz
Total Phones: 425
2010 Cell Charges: $163,200
(Police & Fire: $62,016)
The Center for Investigative Action took those numbers to city leaders from each of the three cities, and asked if any cell phones can be eliminated from their budgets. The consensus was no.
Fred Cohn is the Assistant City Manager for Monterey, a city facing a $5 million deficit. Cohn said the city is reducing the number of cell phones, but getting rid of them completely could actually add costs. "You have to remember, cell phones are a tool, and they actually help us save labor, and save money."
Cohn says the majority of phones are used by Police, Fire, and Maintenance, who need to be readily available. Those groups will eventually switch to a county-wide radio system, which could eliminate 80 phones, but until then, cell phones are their best option for staying in contact.
But not all phones are for emergency personnel. Departments like Parks & Recreation had 31 phones, and the Conference Center had 15. Combined, they accounted for nearly $17,000. Still, Cohn says there's nothing left to cut, and in order to close the city's $5 million budget gap, it comes down to jobs. "$5 million roughly translates to 50 people."
Salinas is in a similar situation financially, looking at a $7 million budget gap. Recently the City Council approved 66 layoff notices to help offset the deficit, and Mayor Dennis Donohue says, cutting cell phones would not have helped. "If you look at the people who have the phones, a lot of public safety, a lot of maintenance folks, these are people who are not chained to a desk, so logically they need to be mobile, and accessible."
But that logic doesn't apply to departments like Administration which had 25 phones, or the Permit Center which had 17. Combined, the department phones accounted for more than $16,000. Donohue says, any savings from cell phones would be a drop in the bucket, but in a time of financial drought every drop counts. "When you're dealing with all the big things, some times you don't think about the little things, so it's always good to get a reminder to do that."
Meantime, the city of Santa Cruz will use reserves to cover a $1 million deficit this year, and could face a $6 million deficit next year. City Manager Martin Bernal justified the city spending over $163,000 in 2010 saying cellular technology actually helps the city save money. "In a way, I actually see that because of the changing technology, we may rely on cell phones a little more to sort of become more efficient, and be able to do more with the same staff, or less staff than we have now."
Bernal says, employees get cell phones because it's less expensive than the separate radio systems they used in the past. Bernal says it's also important for Santa Cruz employees to be on call day and night, in case of emergency. "It's the city who becomes the emergency response provider." And that means everyone is utilized, even Bernal. As the city manager, he acted as the Director of Emergency Services during the tsunami that tore through the harbor March 11th. "I got called in at two in the morning to respond to the disaster."
The city leaders we spoke with say the usage for all phones is monitored, and after further investigation, there were no unusual spikes that would suggest otherwise.
