UPDATE: "A City Outsources Everything. Sky Doesn't Fall"

Before anyone gets apoplectic, Maywood, CA is not Pepper Pike, or vice versa. Their troubles result from a police department run amok with litigation that even defies descriptions of Cuyahoga County corruption.  But this follow-up story from the New York Times is a nice "whatever happened to" piece to the entry I first posted about the city's unusual choices.

A snippet:

At first, people in this poor, long-troubled and heavily Hispanic city southeast of Los Angeles braced for anarchy.

Senior citizens were afraid they would be assaulted as they walked down the street. Parents worried the parks would be shut and their children would have nowhere to safely play. Landlords said their tenants had begun suggesting that without city-run services they would no longer feel obliged to pay rent.

The apocalypse never arrived. In fact, it seems this city was so bad at being a city that outsourcing — so far, at least — is being viewed as an act of municipal genius.

“We don’t want to be the model for other cities to lay off their employees,” said Magdalena Prado, a spokeswoman for the city who works on contract. “But our residents have been somewhat pleased.”

For better or worse, it does look like our city's review of its finances is looking like a model for Beachwood, now seeking to raise its income tax rate from 1.5% to 2% and South Russell, which is seeking to raise its income tax rate from 1% to 1.25%.