Thinking strategically about recovery budgeting: a case study on public-private partnerships.

• Author: Davis, Amy

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

At first glance, the City of Sandy Springs, Georgia--just north of Atlanta--might look similar to other growing cities of 99,000 residents. More than 300 miles of roadway are being improved and maintained, permits are being issued, residents are voicing their views at City Council meetings, and 115 police officers and 97 firefighters are answering calls. But this formerly unincorporated area of Fulton County is also home to residents who wanted change. They had grown weary of having most of their tax dollars spent on services in other parts of the county and wanted to see their money spent on services at a local level. A dedicated group of volunteers fought for 30 years to get legislative approval to hold a ballot referendum for incorporation. The referendum was held in June 2005 and passed by 94 percent. Just as quickly as the city was born, a five-member governor's commission was set up to guide every aspect of the start up, which would begin on December 1, 2005.

A major task before the governor's commission was deciding how city services would be provided. The commission's decision to explore a public-private partnership for all services was innovative--Sandy Springs was the first city to outsource all municipal services, except public-safety services, to one private-sector entity. The mayor and city council members believe in this unique public-private model and wanted something non-traditional from the beginning. The police and fire departments were excluded from the contract because the liability insurance would not allow the private company to provide these services.

In recent years, public entities have expanded the scope of services performed by outsourced providers, as the benefits of outsourcing have became apparent. Sandy Springs' decision to outsource nearly all city services is an extension of this trend, and since 2005, several other public entities have followed suit and privately outsourced services to this extent. The cities of Johns Creek, Georgia; Central, Louisiana; Bonita Springs, Florida, and Centennial, Colorado, have successfully followed this model.

CONTRACTING SERVICES

The commission chose a global engineering firm that had demonstrated experience and exceptional performance with local and international government management. The contract included an administrative side to handle duties such as finance, accounting, purchasing, customer service, human resources, communications, and information technology; and a hands-on side to provide public services such as public works, transportation, parks and recreation, and planning and zoning. Most of the public works tasks are done by Georgia-based firms that work as subcontractors for the main vendor.

The vendor, which submitted two RFPs for the project, has been providing services to Sandy Springs since the city's inception. The initial fixed-fee contract...