SAN DIEGO -- Employees of the city of San Diego's Street Sweeping Department submitted the winning proposal in competitive bidding against three private companies to perform the function in the future, Mayor Jerry Sanders announced Wednesday.
While specific figures of the bids were not announced, the workers' proposal is expected to save $560,000 annually and service levels will remain the same, the mayor said.
"In other words, the streets will be swept with the same frequency as they are now with lower costs to our taxpayers,'' Sanders said.
The city has 20 power sweepers that cover 2,700 miles of roadways. The department aims to sweep streets in commercial areas once a week, and residential areas once per month, according to its website.
Wally Hill, who is in charge of the city's managed competition process, said the employees' proposal lowers the department's workforce by the equivalent of 8.75 positions, of which six are vacant.
Public labor unions have opposed managed competition, but city employees have won all three bids -- street sweeping, publishing and fleet services.
"I love this trend,'' Councilman Todd Gloria said. "I love that city workers, when given an opportunity, can find ways to save taxpayers money without jeopardizing the quality of service they provide.''
Sanders also announced that two other city functions will be put out to bid -- stormwater facilities and operations, and transportation engineering and operations.
Managed competition will begin immediately for the Stormwater Department, with a decision on a winning bid next January, according to the mayor. The transportation competition dates have not been determined.
The bidding process is currently under way for operations of the Miramar Landfill, for which Sanders hopes to announce a winner in August, and street and sidewalk maintenance, scheduled for completion in September.
