The governor in New Jersey has just received a report on privatization, as reported by Governing, and it has some interesting components that apply directly to nonprofits managing public resources, as we suggest be done with the American River Parkway—see our strategy and news page.
An excerpt from the Governing article.
“The New Jersey Privatization Task Force has delivered its final report to Gov. Chris Christie — and he’s excited about what he’s reading, calling it a path to a more efficient, cost-effective government. The report highlights more than $200 million in potential cost savings.
“In March, I asked the Privatization Task Force to develop a strategy that would reduce the size, scope and cost of state government,” said Christie. “What they have provided is a path for change that will benefit New Jersey’s taxpayers…”
“The report recommended privatizing services in a wide variety of areas from highway maintenance to prison food services, from toll collection to vehicle inspection. It includes a brief overview of recent privatization efforts in New Jersey and other states. “There have been — and continue to be — numerous successful privatization successes in New Jersey,” notes the report….
“Most interesting is the report’s call for a centralized entity whose sole purpose is to promote competitive efficiency within New Jersey’s state government:
“States that have had the most success in privatization created a permanent, centralized entity to manage both privatization and related policies aimed at increasing government efficiency. Such an entity can constantly evaluate agency performance, and implement and oversee privatization initiatives in a consistent way across state government. New Jersey would be well served by an entity whose mission is to seek government efficiency and create competition for service delivery. It should assist government agencies in developing a “business case,” for any proposed privatization…”
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