My city’s budget deficit is so bad they are thinking about letting cops and teachers go. That doesn’t happen until backs are up against the wall. And don’t even get me started on California’s budget gap! Can you even picture $30 billion?
Many other state and local governments are in similar straits, and I am sure you would be surprised if Reason did not step into the breach to help them grapple with these challenges. We have several reports coming out in the next few months that get down into the grit of laying out specific opportunities for cost savings.
The first, hot off the press (electronically speaking), examines savings from highway and road maintenance outsourcing and outlines the most effective ways for public officials to go about the privatization process.
The full how-to guide, Contracting for Road and Highway Maintenance, can be found online at https://www.rppi.org/htg21.pdf
This guide is designed to help governments stretch tax dollars by taking advantage of private sector efficiencies and management approaches that can reduce costs and improve the quality of service. It illustrates how governments can structure outsourcing contracts to emphasize accountability, performance, and risk sharing with their private partners, and also outlines the most common motivating factors in road privatization — reducing costs, improving efficiency, and expediting project completion.
If you know someone else who can use this information please pass it on. And do let me know if you have any reactions to the report.
”’Adrian Moore is the Vice President of Research for the Reason Foundation. He can be reached by email at:”’ mailto:Adrian.Moore@reason.org
”’Originally published by Reason Foundation, which is a public policy think tank promoting choice, competition and a dynamic market economy as the foundation for human dignity and progress. For more information, contact Geoffrey Segal, Director of Privatization and Government Reform Policy at:”’ mailto:geoffrey.segal@reason.org ”’Visit the Reason Web site at:”’ https://www.rppi.org ”’or go to the Reason Public Policy Institute’s Privatization Center at:”’ https://www.privatization.org ”’for information on government reform, privatization, contracting out and public/private partnerships.”’