Research & Insight

Research & Insight

public sector

Good Will Taxing

Chris Pryer, Business Writer

Many people don’t believe you can put the words ‘good will’ and ‘tax collection’ in the same sentence. There is a natural tension there. But in the city of New Haven, CT, there has been a breakthrough that should serve as a model for cities all over the country that are struggling to collect delinquent real estate taxes. In 1994 New Haven’s property tax collection rate was languishing at around 86 percent. Since privatizing the collection of delinquent taxes, it has improved to 94 percent for last year’s collection and is expected to exceed 96 percent this year.

Road Warriors

Chris Pryer, Business Writer

Few assets owned and maintained by the government illicit as much passion from taxpayers as the condition of paved roads. But even as the need for more and wider thoroughfares goes largely ignored due to shrinking budgets and changing political climates, state and local governments across the nation also are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain preexisting transportation infrastructure. And it doesn’t stop there. The management of buildings, building-maintenance equipment, real estate, vehicles, office equipment, etc., is becoming a burden governments are discovering is more than they can bear. As a remedy, many are turning to asset management outsourcing.

Virginia COMPETEs for the Common Good

Chris Pryer, Business Writer

Government Competes with Private Sector on Level Playing Field Today, as local and state governments struggle to provide services to an ever-growing, ever-demanding public despite inadequate financial resources, outsourcing and privatization of government functions is becoming more and more of an issue. Taxpayers expect their governments to deliver products and services commensurate — at least in their own minds — with what they pay in taxes. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, a unique organization works to ensure its citizens get the most for their tax dollars. The 15-person Commonwealth Competition Council, created by the Virginia Legislature as part of the Virginia Competition Act of 1995, is proving that there is a better and less costly way to serve its citizens. The Competition Council, whose members hail from government, academia and the private sector, was mandated to research and recommend ways in which state government can reduce the size and scope of its activity, as well as investigate h

Taking the Chaos Out of Government Outsourcing

Chris Pryer, Business Writer

For government agencies across the United States, the ability to deliver services to their citizenry is being sorely taxed (no pun intended). Budgets are being strained beyond limit. Quality — and quantity — of services is deteriorating. And the varieties of the prevailing political climate can wreak havoc on long-range planning and consistent and coordinated operational systems. Add to this the fact that many government agencies’ entire existing infrastructure for delivering services is suffering from such maladies as outdated technology, a stagnant work force and the typical bureaucratic red tape that is government’s calling card, and you have a recipe for guaranteed underachievement.

Magnificent Medicaid Management

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Medicaid is one of the most controversial, complicated and expensive programs in U.S. government. It’s very political, so there is a high level of interest, and there is also a lot of change going on in it all the time, says Peggy Bartels, Administrator of the State of Wisconsin’s Division of Health Care Financing. So any entity that provides outsourcing for Medicaid is going to be in a fishbowl environment. It’s very difficult. She explains that the process of reviewing and making determinations about whether or not Medicaid will fund services is all done under the very close supervision and administration of the State. Decisions are controversial. By being our business partner, the outsourcer invites the same criticism we receive, she adds. They’re in the bull’s eye, and it is a big challenge to do that kind of work and maintain a positive presence. Nevertheless, EDS took the challenge and has been the Medicaid fiscal agent in the State of Wisconsin since their outsourcing agreement began in 1977.

When the Government Comes Calling

Raymond Angus

This question is important to the solvency of any organization, but it is crucial to those companies doing business with the federal government, says George Phares, President of Strategic Direction Resource, Inc. For seven years, Phares’ company, based in Houston, Texas; has specialized in auditing human resources for federal contractors. Why, you may ask, do human resources need auditing? Because once a year, each federal contractor is required to file a compliance report with the government…

Balancing Trust and Accountability

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Trust plays a crucial role in government outsourcing. Adrian Moore of the Reason Foundation says that the less tangible things are, the more important trust is. In outsourced infrastructure projects, trust is less important. A project to construct a bridge, for example, is tangible in that you test to establish whether it was built soundly. But in a contract for such services as child adoption placement, managing a prison or welfare benefits, the outcomes are open-ended. Much of what the government wants to happen is well defined and measurable, but a lot of it is not. That type of circumstance will require trusting the vendor a great deal…

Scaling the Hurdle of Trust

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Been there, done that is not a trite phrase to Skip Stitt, founder and president of Competitive Government Strategies, Inc. His consulting firm assists cities, counties, states and private-sector not-for-profit organizations on outsourcing and privatization. From experience, he knows it’s vital that government entities base their strategic decisions on best practices, for he was once a buyer. As chief operating officer and senior deputy mayor for the City of Indianapoli…

Invasion of Privacy

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

The commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the president of the union representing IRS employees (NTEU) are on record as being opposed to outsourcing. Even Malcolm S. Forbes in the October 1995 edition of his magazine stated, This idea is a bad one. Sure, enforcers outside the federal government might be more ‘efficient’ and cheaper, but any such savings are not worth the price of this gross invasion of privacy. Negative Trust Flow Beliefs such as these gave birth to a nationwide study to determine if the public perceives a difference in trust where the collection of taxes is handled by a U.S. government official versus outsourcing the process to a private collector.

To Be Worth One’s Salt

Outsourcing Center, Kathleen Goolsby, Senior Writer

Prisons are one of the most difficult areas to privatize and do it well and safely, says Adrian Moore, of the Reason Foundation. While the task of taking away an offender’s liberty rightly belongs to the government’s judges and juries, the task of making sure prisoners remain in cells and behave for set periods of time is not something that only a government can do. There is no reason why prisons should not be privatized . . . as long as there is accountability…..(outsourcing)

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