Consolidation often efficient

Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency.

Report after report after report has been handed to local governments suggesting ways to save money (or in some cases spend money to improve services or make them more efficient in the long run).
With all their talk about raising taxes, governments had better show taxpayers that they are trying to save money wherever possible. Taxpayers can decide for themselves if the efforts are useful.
Common to efficiency reports is a theme of consolidating services, sometimes across jurisdictional boundaries. Some of these consolidation ideas have been floated previously. Perhaps a consultant’s stamp of approval will give them added legitimacy in the eyes of the governing bodies.

Charlottesville should consider consolidating some functions within city government and some with Albemarle County, said the outside review it recently received.
Between the central government and the city school division, these shared functions could include central mail services and warehouse operations. With Albemarle, shared services could include fuel procurement, road maintenance and affordable housing for suburban areas.
Affordable housing programs also were cited as ripe for consolidation by Albemarle County’s efficiency report, which noted that these functions are now spread over five regional groups.
Regional cooperation also could be expanded to areas such as parks and recreation, recommends the report. Consolidation of city-county parks and recreation departments is not a new idea. But perhaps now it will gain impetus.

Meanwhile, the Charlottesville school system had its own efficiency review conducted by an educational consulting firm. Major changes were recommended — including closing one of six elementary schools, cutting six assistant principals, firing teachers and instructional assistants and increasing class sizes.
Charlottesville’s school population is declining. Eventually, that decline will reach the enrollment equivalent of one complete school. And paying to keep a school open when it’s no longer needed is a huge drain on resources.
Closing a school is never a popular option and Charlottesville won’t act on such a major change anytime soon.
However, cost-saving decisions by the schools will have an impact on the central government and will help determine how City Hall handles the recommendations obtained in
its own efficiency report.

Charlottesville and Albemarle County can press forward on discussions of consolidating some services without waiting for the city schools’ decision.
But the schools’ problem raises the one big question no one seems to wish to address directly: Should city and county consolidate their school systems?
That, too, has been suggested before — and the idea has been shot down for any number of reasons, justified or not.

At this very moment Albemarle County is constructing school additions, while Charlottesville classrooms are being underutilized.
Consolidating affordable housing programs would be simple compared to consolidating schools. Huge logisitical, political and emotional obstacles may loom.
But not even this option should be off the table.