☆ Is San Jose using service cuts to pressure voters into the hotel tax?
Reading the Merc and the Spotlight, one might think a “No” vote on Measure A is downright irresponsible. But government finance expert Mark Moses questions why the city is targeting Sunday library hours and downtown police patrols. Why not instead address the real cost drivers? An Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Here is why the city is leaning toward service cuts rather than aggressive staffing changes:
The High Cost of the Status Quo
San Jose’s decision to cut services while avoiding layoffs is a calculated move to navigate political minefields. While the city manager’s proposal eliminates 85 positions, these are primarily vacant roles. Cutting such positions reclaims budget resources without triggering the expensive and inefficient bumping processes or meet and confer requirements mandated by the bargaining agreements.
Political Leverage
There is also the matter of visible vs. invisible cuts. When a city improves internal efficiency, the public rarely notices. However, when you threaten to cut Sunday library hours or downtown police patrols—as the city has warned will happen if the Measure A hotel tax fails—it creates immediate public pressure. In many ways, the service cut becomes a tool to pressure voters to approve new taxes.
The Scope Problem
Ultimately, these maneuvers address only the symptoms of a bloated city mission. The true driver of the deficit isn't a temporary revenue dip or a few dozen vacant desks; it is the city's refusal to align its organizational scope with its government nature and financial reality.
Reassigning staff sounds tenable, but in a rigid, unionized environment, city roles aren't plug-and-play. Specialized roles in public safety or public works cannot simply be moved to fill administrative gaps without significant retraining and, in some cases, contract renegotiations. By refusing to narrow the goals and consequent scope of the organization, San Jose remains trapped in a cycle of protecting the labor structure at the expense of the taxpayer. Until the city stops trying to be everything to everyone and addresses the underlying drivers of its costs, these service cut dances will remain a permanent feature of a city that has simply outgrown its means.
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