A Germantown firm is slated to assume management of the three public libraries in Santa Clarita, Calif., in July, a move that has ignited a passionate debate over whether some municipal functions should be off-limits to for-profit operators.
Opponents of the deal call public libraries, like fire or police protection, the epitome of local government service. And even in these shaky financial times, they shudder at the idea of libraries being run by a firm looking to make money.
A look at how the states compare in their budget problems and their proposed cuts.
“Nobody was complaining about the libraries here. Nobody,” said Lynne Plambeck, a Santa Clarita resident who opposes the contract with Maryland-based Library Systems and Services. “I don’t know why they are doing this. I worry about a private corporation having control over our libraries.”
Santa Clarita officials say the deal would give taxpayers better service for less money — which proved to be a clinching argument at a time when many state and local governments are grappling with record budget gaps.
Similar outsourcing debates are echoing across the country as cash-strapped governments look for new ways to raise money, pare operating costs and shed workers along with their burdensome pension and health-care costs.
Some cities have hired private armed guards to patrol crime hot spots. Earlier this month, Half Moon Bay, Calif., disbanded its police force and paid San Mateo County to provide public safety.
In Arizona, officials sold the state capitol building that the government now leases back. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) controversial push to curtail the collective bargaining rights of public workers in the state also made it easier to privatize state-owned power plants at prisons and university campuses.
In Ohio, Gov. John Kasich (R) — who also has signed legislation severely restricting collective bargaining rights for public workers — has announced plans to privatize five prisons. Kasich also wants to find a private firm to lease the lucrative state-run liquor distribution operation.
Outgoing Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) championed privatization of the city’s parking meters in a much-maligned deal that was followed by a similar deal in Indianapolis. Officials in Harrisburg, Pa., which has flirted with bankruptcy, have considered privatizing the city’s parking garages and meters to raise a one-time shot of money. Other cities are examining having private firms operate their water and waste water systems.
Locally, Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) is moving to privatize Virginia’s state-run liquor stores.
“We are seeing a significant uptick in governments that are looking at this,” said D.J. Gribbin, managing director of Macquarie Capital, a global investment firm that has interests in a wide range of public infrastructure projects, including the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road. “This is being driven by the fact that states and counties and cities have to look at better ways of doing business.”
When governments sell or lease public assets, they often reap a huge windfall, while shedding increasingly onerous employee costs. Meanwhile, proponents say, private operators often bring new technology and the ability to make rapid management changes that often elude government managers.
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