Morgan Hill’s budget challenge is real, but it is not unusual—and it is not unsolvable. The familiar responses are to cut services or raise taxes.
While both remain options, there is a third path that deserves careful, open-minded consideration: selective service consolidation, particularly with the City of Gilroy.
When Morgan Hill and Gilroy were founded, separate municipal systems made sense. Today, our communities are closely connected—by highways, shared residents and shared infrastructure.
We already cooperate successfully on essential services, including wastewater treatment and regional utilities.
These partnerships demonstrate that collaboration can protect local interests while improving efficiency.
Given this reality, it is reasonable to ask whether certain services—such as recreation, public works, planning or emergency dispatch—could be shared to reduce duplication and manage costs more effectively. Across California, many cities have adopted regional service models that deliver equal or better service at lower cost, using modern technology and economies of scale.
Consolidation does not mean losing local identity or control. It means sharing back-office functions, specialized equipment and technical expertise where duplication adds expense but little value.
Savings can then be reinvested into frontline services that directly benefit residents.
The appropriate first step is not implementation, but a feasibility study. Such a study would evaluate what can and cannot be shared, identify risks, establish service standards and ensure accountability. Just as important, it would include employees, labor representatives, elected officials and residents in the conversation from the beginning.
Budget pressures affect every city. Raising taxes alone often maintains the status quo. Thoughtful collaboration offers the possibility of maintaining—or even improving—services while being responsible stewards of public funds. At the very least, it is an option worth studying together with our closest neighbor, Gilroy.
Resident FAQ
Is this a decision to consolidate?
No. This is a proposal to study whether consolidation makes sense—nothing more.
Would Morgan Hill lose control of services?
No. Any shared arrangement would include governance agreements, service standards and performance reporting to protect local priorities.
Does consolidation mean layoffs?
Not necessarily. Many consolidations rely on attrition, shared staffing and reassignment rather than job losses. Workforce input would be part of the study.
Will response times or service quality suffer?
They don’t have to. Many regional models improve service through better technology, staffing coverage, and coordination.
Why Gilroy?
Gilroy is our closest partner geographically and operationally. We already share infrastructure and residents, making collaboration more practical than with distant agencies.
What happens if the study shows it won’t work?
Then we don’t do it. A feasibility study informs decisions—it does not predetermine them.
A feasibility study would allow the city to evaluate potential benefits, risks, governance structures, service standards and workforce impacts in a transparent, inclusive manner. This approach preserves local control, invites public participation and ensures that any future decisions are data-driven and community-supported.
Mark Grzan
Morgan Hill
