No savings for city in privatized auto repair
Source: By Rich Lord, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA), Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Privatization of Pittsburgh's repair garage hasn't saved much money or improved service, acting city Controller Tony Pokora said yesterday. Because the city underestimated the costs of vehicle repair, it must pay $1 million more than budgeted this year, and $3.5 million more than anticipated over the following two years, he said upon release of an audit of the garage. The privatization effort, launched by former Mayor Tom Murphy, "is a failure if we look at the numbers across the board," he said. "We're seeing problems consistent with when the city operated" the garage.
...... First Vehicle Services of Cincinnati, which took over the garage from the city in February 2005, issued a 35-page rebuttal.