Outsourcing Local Government?

19 June 2007 - 9:00am

Sandy Springs, Georgia, with 80,000 residents, has apparently successfully outsourced all government functions, except for police and fire services.

In an op-ed in the Tampa Tribune, Reason Foundation Director of Government Reform Geoff Segal writes:

"The experiment in Sandy Springs, Georgia, has proved that local governments don't need hundreds of public employees to function. Sandy Springs, a fast-growing town of more than 80,000 residents, has only four public employees who are not involved with public safety. Except for police and fire, virtually every government function has been contracted out. In its two years under private management, Sandy Springs hasn't needed a tax hike or a fee increase, the government has become more responsive, the service quality has improved, and so has customer satisfaction. The residents love it. In fact, this model has worked so well that two other Atlanta-area communities adopted it last year, and several others are considering a similar approach."

Source: The Tampa Tribune, June 12, 2007
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