Don't Undervalue Importance Of City Workers

Your Dec. 19 editorial, "Dingfelder Plays Emotional Games with Necessary City Cutbacks," and a separate article in the Metro section, "City's Ax Aims At Minorities" prompt me to respond on several levels and issues.

Government leaders, like those in the private sector, have multiple responsibilities and are accountable to multiple constituencies. As you point out, in government, leaders have a fiducially based responsibility to taxpayers and citizens within their communities. That responsibility, however, should not come solely at the expense of governmental employees.

At the Tribune, for example, the publisher and management have a responsibility to the readers and its employees. They are not mutually exclusive. Without employees there would be no product. Likewise, in government, without employees, there would be no services rendered. A missed newspaper is an inconvenience. Failure to respond to a community emergency could be life threatening.

You further suggest that Dingfelder is looking at the possible layoff of custodians and security personnel as an emotional issue and imply a more businesslike approach would better serve the taxpayers and citizens of the city of Tampa. I am not familiar with the actual issue at hand and do not wish to involve myself in the budgetary and staffing concerns of another municipality.

However, generally speaking, government often is criticized for its un-businesslike behavior, but it often is unable to function as a business would. Outsourcing or privatizing services is a popular method of cutting governmental costs but can come at a cost in terms of service delivery and accountability. Cost effectiveness is not often an option for governments when providing community-based services.

State mandates to cut local funding are a given that all local governments are facing. Leaders are required to gauge which cuts will limit spending without negatively affecting services. It's a tough balance. But expressing concern for employees at the "lower rungs" of government does not imply an "indifference" to taxpayers or government efficiency. To me, it indicates compassion for those on the "lower rungs" who often are either overlooked or their contributions undervalued.

In the Metro section, Dingfelder is quoted stating that more than 70 percent of those employees affected by the possible termination and outsourcing of services are minorities. That should be no surprise.

In the December 2007 issue of Public Administration Review, Camilla Stivers suggests that those in public administration need to address lingering vestiges of "masked" racism and cites instances where unconscious or subtle racism accounted for multiple governmental failures in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina. Our history reminds us it is often no accident that minorities are clustered in certain positions or that residential neighborhoods are defined by race. These facts are in Zephyrhills, Tampa, New Orleans or Los Angeles.

Stivers believes that public leadership requires more than simply having good business sense. Public service requires leaders who can bring together "the best mind with the best heart."

That is why I find it disappointing that the Tribune editorial staff would attempt to stifle further discussion on budgetary issues, especially those that affect some of the city's most vulnerable employees. It appears to me that Councilman Dingfelder is seeking a dialogue. He should have that chance.