The AOC/Judicial Council and their minions are back out there trying to kill accountability and transparency. They are on a roadshow with all of the editorial boards with their typical misinformation which is always intended to mislead with the hopes that these negative editorials will persuade the Governor to veto SB 682. Below is a common sense independent view about privatizing public services.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2015
Another View: Outsourcing public services may deliver steep bill to taxpayers
SB 682 would protect taxpayers with contracting requirements
Bill would bring courts under the same contracting standards as executive branch
BY DONALD COHEN
Special to The Bee
Accountability for taxpayer dollars is an unassailable goal. Unfortunately, The Sacramento Bee is supporting outsourcing of public services and opposing common-sense bills that will protect taxpayers and improve public services (“Bills that should never become law”; Editorials, Sept. 17).
In the Public Interest, a comprehensive policy center on responsible contracting, has cataloged hundreds of cases of well-intended outsourcing efforts that delivered unexpected bills and unintended service reductions to taxpayers.
Our studies show privatization delivers the best value for taxpayers in cases where clear management standards, fair contracting practices and transparency requirements are written into the law. One such effort to protect taxpayer dollars by implementing gold-standard contracting requirements is Senate Bill 682, a bill Gov. Jerry Brown should sign.
SB 682 would bring California’s trial courts under the same essential contracting standards that apply to the executive branch and local government agencies. These standards protect taxpayers from hidden costs and reductions in service quality and hold public-sector managers accountable for conducting competitive bidding.
There is no policy reason for courts to be exempt from oversight in contracting. To the contrary, the central role of our justice system in public safety and in family and business matters makes it all the more important to keep these services accessible by safeguarding taxpayer resources.
In the Public Interest has seen an increasing number of public agencies undertaking the challenging task of rebuilding public services damaged by privatizing after contractors failed to save money or meet service expectations, a trend known as “insourcing.” Common-sense standards like those in SB 682 smartly require that analysis of the costs of contracting be done up front, rather than after taxpayers have already paid a steep bill.
At its worst, a blind push toward privatization has public agencies driving a race-to-the bottom that should concern taxpayers, who ultimately bear the brunt of poor service quality and low wages.
Common-sense standards like those in SB 682 ensure the public interest is paramount when services are contracted out.
Donald Cohen is executive director of In the Public Interest, a comprehensive research and policy center on privatization and responsible contracting.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article36080343.html#storylink=cpy

At this point in the AOC saga, I would recommend union representation. The AOC hired about 24% of you at a certain pay rate and gave you certain tasks that were never before questioned in other studies. Now they want to phase in cuts in pay and there are bigger changes on the horizon? The AOC’s studies are inherently corrupt. I’ve witnessed a few times where vendors were clued in on the AOC’s goals and the conclusion that the AOC wishes to see in their work product. So the reason 24% of you got new titles and phased in cuts in pay is because that was the conclusion that AOC management sought.

I seriously doubt that 24% of you would ever see a pay cut with collective bargaining.

This is probably another one of those slight of hand arrangements where the AOC lays off or eliminates positions and cuts worker salaries to make some room for larger salary bumps at the top of the food chain much like they did last time. No one outside of the AOC (except the lemmings on the judicial council) agrees that there has been the slightest degree of meaningful reorganization. Such reorganization should start with eliminating the directors whose mission is in total conflict with the judicial council and those changes should ripple down. Instead, changes are happening at a low level with suggestions (don’t hold your breath) that they will ripple up.

Like most of the rest of us, I’m not holding my breath and will recognize real reforms when I see them.

As far as outsourcing: I watched Jon Wintermeyer build a courtroom for a few hundred thousand dollars. I watched team jacobs to the exact same work for a half million dollars more. Employees can maintain these facilities for a fraction of what contractors charge and this is but one example. Other examples are CCMS and even the Long Beach courthouse where private entities are making some serious returns on their investment whereas if it was bond funded, it would have cost a few hundred million dollars less.

The big question is why is the AOC willingly overpaying contractors? Follow the money. Or better yet, sign up and join a union and insist that they follow the money.