What Not To Outsource

When talking about the economy (as it applies to government spending) there needs to be a discussion about keeping the water, road, sewer, and the solid waste departments in house.

The advantage is not so much in money and not spending, as it is about control.  Once the government that you serve gets rid of these departments, all control is lost.  While it may seem like a good thing at the time, there is one glaring drawback. 

This drawback is, that you will have to let out for bit every repair and upgrade to these departments that you do.  Another, not so well known, drawback is the lack of information you can receive.  If you out source these departments and then you want information, you will have to pay extra.  Unless, of course, information is part of the contract and that, as we know, is real iffy.

If these departments are left in house then you control, benefits, payroll, how much inventory of pipe valves etc., are on hand at any given time.  Getting the information needed is as simple as having the staff run a report.  It they do not generate the report you want, then do not pay them or dock them several hours’ pay for insubordination.

I have not found a single instance, where outsourcing these services has worked well.  Usually, that is the norm, over time the outsourcer charges twice of what you were spending for the same service, and the savings to the local population is negligible.  In point of fact, there is no savings at all.

Sherman

Accounting For The Publics Money.

Of all the things that government does spending money wisely, is the single thing it does the least well of all. Contracts that grow mysteriously larger after they have been signed, costing thousands of tax dollars to be spent, is all to common.

As an elected official you should drive to be accountable for every penny that is spent.  Question why valves for the water system have to be special ordered.  If the water department is replacing two or three valves in the potable water system a year, then why don’t they have two or three on hand, instead of having to special order the things.  If they had the valves on hand then repair to the water system would be timelier.  Not to mention that buying valves in some sort of quantity ought to be cheaper than buying them one at a time.

There are other economies to be made as well like:

• A paperless office.
• Buying years worth of copier paper all at once.
• Pre-purchase of a year’s worth of fuel for the water, sewer, and street departments.

There may be other things that can be done to keep down the cost however,  upfront accountability is desperately needed.

It is no good telling your constituents that more money is needed if you cannot prove where their money disappeared into in the first place.  Portland Oregon has wasted over twenty million dollars in the last eight years.  No one at city hall can tell you, or anyone else, where the money went.

In your community you need to keep the books open, with detailed explanations as to the expenses.  If you will do that then you will never have to listen to the criticism “if government were a business . . .”

Sherman