City That Fired Everyone Doing Just Fine

Not having any employees hasn’t been so bad for Maywood, Calif. A budget crisis forced the small city to fire literally everyone in June, and it contracted out various essential services to neighboring cities. But Maywood was so bad at handling those services itself that outsourcing has led to a noticeable improvement, the New York Times reports.

Maywood’s previous police department, for example was “permeated with sexual innuendo, harassment, vulgarity, discourtesy to members of the public” and racial insensitivity, according to an assessment by the state AG last year. The outsourced cops, from LA County and other neighbors, have by all accounts been an improvement. “We don’t want to be the model for other cities to lay off their employees,” said a city spokesperson. “But our residents have been somewhat pleased.” (More Maywood stories.)