109. The Last Word - The City of San Antonio Can’t Hire Everyone
This week’s Last Word addresses a pressing local decision San Antonio faces amidst national upheaval. With jobs at risk due to political chaos in Washington, city leaders are contemplating hiring displaced federal workers. While the intention is...
This week’s Last Word addresses a pressing local decision San Antonio faces amidst national upheaval. With jobs at risk due to political chaos in Washington, city leaders are contemplating hiring displaced federal workers. While the intention is noble, the reality presents tough choices—maintain fiscal discipline or succumb to political theater by expanding the city payroll unsustainably.
Bob analyzes the balance San Antonio must strike: the importance of fiscal restraint during economic uncertainty, the role of the city council in avoiding patronage politics, and the limitations of initiatives like the Ready to Work program in aiding white-collar federal employees.
As San Antonio navigates these turbulent times, the question looms: Can the city provide relief without compromising its financial stability, or will it spiral into impractical solutions?
Tune in for a candid look at governance, economic challenges, and the path forward for San Antonio.
The Last Word: The City of San Antonio Can’t Hire Everyone
Even those of you who voted to return Donald Trump to the White House must realize the president and Elon Musk are only succeeding in causing mayhem and damage that will take years to repair in their stated efforts to target federal workers they say are the source of fraud and waste in our government. Tens of thousands of federal workers who provide key services to American citizens are at-risk being summarily fired, faster than federal judges can issue cease-and-desist orders.
The president and his cabinet are openly ignoring the judges. We could be in for a constitutional crisis. And the impacts of what is happening in Washington will soon be felt here at home.
Speaking of home, there are growing calls from at least two City Council members who are running for mayor for the city to hire as many jobless federal workers as possible. The sentiments are laudable, but impractical. The City of San Antonio cannot afford to become a safety net. If there are key vacancies to fill, fine. Hire the best and take advantage of the fast-growing candidate pool.
But let’s not engage in patronage from the council dais or create a single sympathy job. And let’s not feel compelled to fill jobs that are not essential. We could be headed into a recession, so fiscal restraint should be the order of the day. The city already has a payroll that exceeds 15,000 full-time employees. Some 4,400 are police and fire, and 11,000-plus are civilian city workers. Over the years I’ve seen realignment at city hall. I can’t recall a serious effort to study the workforce size with an eye toward economizing, the kind of painful undertaking more common in the private sector where businesses are subject to economic cycles, without the insulation provided by tax dollars.
I have no doubt the area's leading employers – H-E-B, USAA, Valero, Port San Antonio tenants, and many smaller businesses will be on the lookout for smart recruits. But don’t expect employers to undertake any sympathy hiring. Cold as it may sound, I hope City Council sticks to its business and doesn’t campaign to serve as some safe landing zone for the unfortunate federal workers who lose their jobs here.
There are plans to use the city’s Ready to Work program to provide relief. I wonder how a program designed to lift people out of unemployment and underemployment into better hourly wage jobs is suddenly going to help an influx of white-collar workers accustomed to federal-level salaries, benefits, and security. It’s a mismatch. Ready to Work might serve as a useful clearing house that connects workers to open jobs, but beyond that basic service, I don’t see the program as a fix.
These are terrible times for many hard-working and faithful federal workers, and equally hard times for many good people whose employment at local nonprofits and other entities is funded by federal grants and programs. More than ever we need responsible local government to keep the city on an even keel through this passage.
The next mayor and new council we elect later this year cannot stop what is happening in Washington, or prevent the negative impacts here. They shouldn’t try.
That’s my Last Word for this week, thanks for watching or listening.
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Bob Rivard [00:00:03]:
Welcome to The Last Word, my weekly commentary on life and work in San Antonio and Texas. Even those of you who voted to return Donald Trump to the White House must realize that the president and Elon Musk are only succeeding in causing mayhem and damage that will take years to repair in their stated efforts to target federal workers who they say are the source of fraud and waste in our government. Tens of thousands of federal workers who provide key services to American citizens are at risk of being summarily fired faster than federal judges can issue cease and desist orders. Well, about those orders, the president and his cabinet are openly ignoring them. We could be in for a constitutional crisis. And the impact of what is happening in Washington will soon be felt here at home. Speaking at home, there are growing calls from at least two city council members who are running for mayor for the city to hire as many jobless federal workers as possible. Those sentiments are laudable, but they're also impractical.
Bob Rivard [00:01:06]:
The city of San Antonio cannot afford to become a safety net. If there are key vacancies to fill, fine. Hire the best and take advantage of the fast growing candidate pool. But let's not engage in patronage from the council dais or create a single sympathy job. And let's not feel compelled to fill jobs that are not essential. We could be heading into a recession in this country and this city, so fiscal restraint should be the order of the day. The city already has a payroll that exceeds 15,000 full time employees. Some 4,400 are police and fire, and 11,000 plus are civilian city workers.
Bob Rivard [00:01:46]:
Over the years, I've seen realignment at city hall, but I can't recall a serious effort to study the workforce size with an eye toward economizing, the kind of painful undertaking more common in the private sector where businesses are subject to economic cycles without the insulation provided by tax dollars. I have no doubt that the area's leading employers, HEB, USAA, Valero, Port San Antonio tenants, and many smaller businesses will be on the lookout for smart recruits, people that have lost their jobs. But don't expect employers to undertake any sympathy hiring either. Cold as it may sound, I hope city council sticks to its business and doesn't campaign to serve as some safe landing zone for the unfortunate federal workers who lose their jobs here. There are plans to use the city's ready to work program to provide relief. I wonder how a program designed to lift people out of unemployment and underemployment into better hourly wage jobs is suddenly going to help an influx of white collar workers accustomed to federal level salaries, benefits, and security. It's a mismatch. Ready to work might serve as a useful clearinghouse that connects workers to open jobs in the private sector.
Bob Rivard [00:03:04]:
But beyond that basic service, I don't see the program as a fix. These are terrible times for many hardworking and faithful federal workers who have nothing to do with fraud and waste, and equally hard times for many good people whose employment at local nonprofits and other entities that are funded by federal grants and programs are also at risk. But more than ever, we need responsible local government to keep the city on an even keel through this difficult and unpredictable passage. The next mayor and new council we elect later this year cannot stop what is happening in Washington or prevent the negative impacts here. They shouldn't try. That's my last word for this week. Thanks for watching or listening. Please share this episode with friends and colleagues, and do sign up for Monday Musings, our weekly newsletter, at bigcitysmalltown.com.
Bob Rivard [00:03:57]:
Big City Small Town is brought to you by Western Urban, building the city our children want to call home, and Geekdom, where startups are born and smart ideas become businesses. Our producer is Corey Eames, video by Erica Rempel, and sound engineering by Alfie de la Garza of Sound Crane Audio. We will see you next week.
