Regional solutions to regional problems

E-Mail

Comments (0)

Text Size:

tool goes here

Without a lot of fanfare, local government leaders are teaming up on some high-priced projects and expensive services. For example:

• Modesto and Ceres are talking about sharing sewer treatment facilities.

• Turlock, Ceres, Modesto, Hughson and the Turlock Irrigation District are discussing a surface treatment plant to assure ample drinking water.

• Oakdale, Riverbank, Modesto and Stanislaus County, along with Caltrans, are partners in a proposed east-west expressway.

• Salida, Stanislaus Consolidated and the Modesto fire agencies are discussing joint operations.

The trend isn't so pronounced that average citizens would notice, but local governments are looking at things they can do better — and less expensively — through partnerships rather than on an individual basis.

It's called regionalization — and we think it should be applauded and encouraged.

On large, expensive services, such as operating a jail, local jurisdictions have long recognized the need to work together. But now we are seeing cities cooperating in other areas.

In 2005, Modesto Mayor Jim Ridenour convened the mayors of Stanislaus County for regular talks. Initially the motive was defensive in nature; they wanted to formulate a vision for growth to counter a ballot initiative.

The mayors never achieved a consensus on growth management, but their talks proved fruitful in other ways. Most important, these ongoing sessions have fostered a much-needed trust.

Ridenour is an effective champion of regional thinking for a number of reasons — his business background, his sincere commitment to the idea of efficiency through shared resources, and the fact that he isn't using the mayorship as a springboard to another public office.

When Ridenour is termed out of office in 2011, we only hope that Modesto's next mayor will keep regionalization as a priority.

The Great Valley Center, founded by former Modesto Mayor Carol Whiteside and now associated with the University of California at Merced, has done much to promote regionalization through research, training programs and conferences on public policy issues.

There's long been a sense that the Central Valley — comprising the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys — was a stepchild to the more prosperous Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego regions. Through many studies, the GVC has documented the disparities, strengthening the valley's arguments for more state and federal attention and dollars.

The state is offering carrots and applying sticks — mandating regional cooperation in some areas and rewarding those who collaborate in others. Senate Bill 375, signed into law in 2008, requires metropolitan regions to adopt a "sustainable community strategy" to encourage compact development, transit and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. That underscores the fact that air and water issues don't conform to artificial city and county lines.

Not everyone has embraced regionalization to the degree that leaders such as Ridenour and Ceres Mayor Anthony Cannella have.

At a recent State of the Region lunch sponsored by the Modesto Chamber of Commerce, Oakdale Mayor Farrell Jackson said, "I don't believe in consolidating, especially when it comes to fire departments." He tempered his comment, however, saying he does believe in shared services.

Smaller cities fear being swallowed or overpowered by the big guys — in our case, Modesto or the county.

Oakdale and Turlock, for example, still have their own police departments and show no interest in contracting with the Sheriff's Department for services, as Waterford, Hughson, Patterson and Riverbank have done.

The organizers of the recent lunch invited the mayors from all the cities to speak. Only four participated on the panel, reflecting in part the east-west geographic divide that monthly meetings haven't soothed. The cities along Interstate 5 — Patterson and Newman — see their issues as different from those of the cities along Highway 99.

Furthermore, cities don't want to give up their identity. Community pride is closely linked to police and fire departments and schools. While citizens don't appear to care whether wastewater is treated at a jointly owned facility, they definitely do care about the name on the patrol cars and fire engines

As we've stated before, Stanislaus leaders have been at best reluctant participants in the blueprint planning process for the eight San Joaquin Valley counties. What regional thinking there is appears to stop at the county line. That may well have to do with the fact that many of the valleywide discussions are held in Fresno, a significant and symbolic distance to the south.

Still, we're gratified by the steps toward greater regionalization that we've seen — some predating the recession and others advancing in response to the economic crisis.

David Hosley, president of the Great Valley Center, suggests that the attitude has moved from resistance to a phase of "we're going to pay a price if we don't do this" to "maybe there are ways we can benefit."

Regional approaches require hard work, much discussion and compromise. But to their credit, most local leaders are recognizing that regional approaches can be more cost effective and efficient — the very things that citizens want and deserve from their government.