Looking out for business....

• Position: Part 3 - Alaska

Third in a series of articles by the Alaska State Chamber addressing issues of major importance to Alaska's business community

Who says government is not responsive? It was just one year ago that the Alaska State Chamber and others began calling for the development of a long range financial plan to guide the state through these years of declining oil revenues. Seven plans have now been proposed. There are also only about that many weeks remaining in the legislative session to sort through them all and come to agreement on the final version.

When all is said and done, one wonders, will we have a slimmer, trimmer, pared-down-to-competition-size government as the end result? Are we looking for better ways to do the government's business...or in five to ten years when this plan has run its course, will we once again be seeking new funding sources (taxes) to keep doing business as usual?

The State Chamber has been looking at how state and local governments across the country are cutting costs and streamlining through privatization and competitive government. All manner of services are being put out for competitive bid, and competition is bringing the quality up and the costs down. Highway maintenance, transportation systems, airports, fire departments, schools, corrections facilities, water and wastewater treatment operations, garbage collection, garages, and court services are but a few services that are being partially or totally privatized.

To the Alaska State Legislature's credit, they have two pieces of privatization legislation currently working their way through the system. House Bill 210 would privatize certain motor vehicle division services, such as vehicle registration, issuance of license plates and titles, and driver's license exams. House Bill 428 would provide for private construction and operation of a prison, as is being done in many other states.

The prison issue provides a good example of cost comparison and the potential savings to be realized through privatization. Due to overcrowding in Alaska's prisons, 206 Alaska prisoners are currently housed in a private prison in Arizona at a cost of $59 per prisoner per day. This compares to the average incarceration cost in Alaska of $107 per day.

The...