AFSCME Privatization Update

Source: BY SHERI McWHIRTER, Record Eagle (MI), 12/20/2006

Harvey Nicholson worked in maintenance at Gaylord Regional Airport for more than 10 years. Six days before Christmas he learned he's about to lose his job. ……. Otsego County commissioners unanimously voted to approve a contract worth more than $186,000 with an outside company for maintenance and other services at the small airport on the west side of Gaylord. The decision will cost three local residents their longtime jobs by year's end and is expected to save the county about $20,000. "It's small savings in light of what you're losing in experienced employees,” said union representative Ellen Keith, of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.

Posted by Info Center at 11:36 AM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Tim Evans, Indianapolis Star (IN), December 21, 2006

Indiana will receive just one year of funding for Gov. Mitch Daniels' proposed 10-year state welfare privatization plan so federal officials can monitor a program they say raises several "questions and concerns."

......... The USDA detailed several lingering concerns in a letter to Family and Social Services Administration Secretary E. Mitchell Roob, including questions about the delegation of duties between employees of the state and its vendors, the proposed implementation schedule and oversight of the private contractors.

Posted by Info Center at 11:35 AM in Social Services | Permalink

Source: by Eileen Welsome, Texas Observer (TX), December 15, 2006

Ric Williamson, a former state legislator and longtime pal of Gov. Rick Perry, runs the monthly meetings of the Texas Transportation Commission like a traffic cop. .........As commission chairman, Williamson sits atop the organizational chart of the Texas Department of Transportation, a huge branch of state government that receives about $6 billion in tax revenue each year, and parcels out road construction jobs worth many billions more.

Appointed by Perry in 2001 and elevated to chairman in 2004, Williamson is now the governor’s man on one of the most ambitious and expensive public works programs in the world: building a network of privately financed and operated toll roads and super-corridors that will literally and figuratively change the state of Texas for generations to come.

Posted by Info Center at 11:22 AM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: Guillermo X. Garcia, Express-News (TX), Web Posted: 12/21/2006 12:02 AM CST

Since mid-2005, investigators at the state Health and Human Services Commission have been unable to determine the level of fraud in a pilot program that officials have touted as the future of entitlements in Texas.

The findings of a state audit released last month potentially put in jeopardy millions of dollars the federal government sends to Texas as its part of public assistance programs in Hays and Travis counties.

Those counties were chosen by HHSC to test a complex system for processing the applications of needy people before rolling it out statewide. The state auditor's report comes almost a year after problems at the commission emerged in its move to privatize social services, an effort Gov. Rick Perry has endorsed.

Posted by Info Center at 9:55 AM in Horror Stories | Social Services | Permalink

Source: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (TX), Thu, Dec. 21, 2006

Officials changed documents, pressured witnesses and delayed an inquiry into whether the state health department inappropriately used lobbyists to push legislation last year, a state investigative report shows.

The report by the inspector general's office of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission said the delay gave potential targets of the investigation time to obscure the paper trail so investigators could not determine whether the Department of State Health Services did anything wrong, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

But the report concluded that three mental health advocacy groups improperly used state grant money to lobby for a bill that the health department favored. The bill, which failed, would have privatized state mental health services.

Posted by Info Center at 9:52 AM in Horror Stories | Mental Health | Permalink

Source: By ALISA ULFERTS, St Petersburg Times (FL), December 14, 2006

…… Florida has between two and three times the number of severely mentally ill residents than the national average, yet the state ranks 48th in the country for per capita public spending on mental health care, according to NAMI. Per-capita mental health spending by Department of Children and Families, when adjusted for inflation, is less now than it was 10 years ago. And the privatization of Medicaid mental health services — in which the state controls costs by contracting with HMOs, which then subcontract with community providers — has forced some community mental health organizations to cut staff and even consider closing shop altogether.

Posted by Info Center at 10:25 AM in Health | Permalink

Source: BY BRENT D. WISTROM, The Wichita Eagle (KS), Mon, Dec. 18, 2006

Just a few months after an international company appeared poised to take over the city of Wichita's fleet maintenance department, it has backed out and two new companies have stepped in. But several fleet employees privately say they believe the deal could lead to delayed repairs of the city's police cars, snow plows and lawn mowers, and would reduce their retirement benefits.

Posted by Info Center at 10:21 AM in Transportation | Permalink

Source: By CHARLES ASHBY, The Pueblo Chieftain (CO), December 13, 2006

DENVER - A former top official for the Colorado Department of Corrections may have broken the law when he helped a private prison company win a state contract earlier this year, an audit revealed Tuesday. Though the report conducted by the state auditor doesn't name him, the audit centered on Nolin Renfrow, former director of prisons for DOC.

Posted by Info Center at 1:22 PM in Corrections | Horror Stories | Permalink

Source: BRENT KALLESTAD, Associated Press (FL), Fri, Dec. 15, 2006

...... And while the governor earned praise for his leadership during a series of hurricanes that ravaged the state and consolidating executive power in his office, the work on privatization is incomplete. [Jeb] Bush's ambition to have government more closely resemble the business world has been beset with painful stumbles - corruption investigations and complaints of lack of oversight.

The agency responsible for oversight on many of the state's contracts, the Department of Management Services, has had eight different leaders in as many years. And some of Bush's agency chiefs have even bucked the privatization wave.

Related article: Some controversies surrounding Bush's privatization efforts

Posted by Info Center at 1:17 PM in Horror Stories | Permalink

Source: Jim Siegel, THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH (OH), Sunday, December 10, 2006

....... Republicans will still control both branches of the legislature next year, albeit by smaller margins than now. ......Now, attention is focused on bills that: ........

• Restrict contributions from individuals and firms getting no-bid contracts, and require the attorney general to approve all state contracts over $1 million.

• Require that the state contract with at least two private prisons, keeping the current number intact.

Related item from OCSEA: Take Action: Urge Ohio Senate to oppose new prison privatization mandate

Posted by Info Center at 9:54 AM in Corrections | Oversight/Contract Management | Permalink

Source: By PAUL KRUGMAN, The New York Times, December 11, 2006

According to U.S. News & World Report, President Bush has told aides that he won't respond in detail to the Iraq Study Group's report because he doesn't want to ''outsource'' the role of commander in chief. That's pretty ironic. You see, outsourcing of the government's responsibilities -- not to panels of supposed wise men, but to private companies with the right connections -- has been one of the hallmarks of his administration. And privatization through outsourcing is one reason the administration has failed on so many fronts.

....... It's now clear that there's a fundamental error in the antigovernment ideology embraced by today's conservative movement. Conservatives look at the virtues of market competition and leap to the conclusion that private ownership, in itself, is some kind of magic elixir. But there's no reason to assume that a private company hired to perform a public service will do better than people employed directly by the government.

Posted by Info Center at 10:14 AM in Federal | Overview/General | Permalink

Source: By Bill Cotterell, Tallahassee Democrat (FL), December 11, 2006

Three years into Gov. Jeb Bush's massive privatization of state personnel services and computerization of state purchasing, a new audit says the state still can't document whether the projects are saving taxpayers' money.
The Department of Management Services, in response to the preliminary audit findings of Auditor General Bill Monroe, said it does not have authority to delve into every state agency and find out how much they are saving by using the "People First" personnel service and MyFloridaMarketPlace purchasing system. That would take legislative authorization, DMS said.

Posted by Info Center at 10:04 AM in Human Resources | Information Technology | Permalink

Source: CHARLES WILSON, Associated Press, Wed, Dec. 06, 2006

INDIANAPOLIS - A new Daniels administration report recommends state government change the way it does business in a multitude of small to sweeping ways, from reducing overtime to possibly privatizing license branches. The efficiency report, ordered by lawmakers two years ago, was completed by the state Office of Management and Budget. It includes more than 100 recommendations for officials' consideration, some of which require legislative action and others that could be ordered by Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Among the "operational" or administrative recommendations are some 24 possibilities for privatization, including state Bureau of Motor Vehicles branches, highway maintenance, school bus inspections and prison work-release programs.

Posted by Info Center at 10:56 AM in Corrections | Schools K-12 | Transportation | Permalink

Source: Associated Press, Dec. 6, 2006, 10:04PM

An Idaho inmate who fled a private Texas prison four days ago remained at large Wednesday as authorities used helicopters and tracking dogs in the search, the Idaho Department of Correction said.

Scot Noble Payne, 43, escaped Sunday evening from the Dickens County Correctional Center, run by Florida-based Geo Group Inc. Payne, serving time for aggravated battery and lewd and lascivious conduct, is one of 463 Idaho inmates who have been shipped to Texas, Minnesota and other out-of-state facilities since last year because of crowding in Idaho.

Posted by Info Center at 10:53 AM in Corrections | Horror Stories | Permalink

Source: KEN KUSMER, Associated Press (IN), Wed, Dec. 06, 2006

The state's proposed $1.16 billion contract with IBM Corp. to help run food stamp, Medicaid and welfare programs calls for enrolling people at food pantries, shelters and other agencies, but some of those agencies might be hard pressed finding people who have the time to do it. The contract calls on IBM to create a voluntary network of advocacy groups, service providers, community leaders and others to provide - at no charge - help to clients in enrolling them for benefits.

Posted by Info Center at 10:48 AM in Social Services | Permalink

Source: DEBORAH YAO, Associated Press (PA), Wed, Dec. 06, 2006

The state will solicit "expressions of interest" from private firms to lease or take over the Pennsylvania Turnpike to gauge how much revenue it would raise, Gov. Ed Rendell said Wednesday. Rendell said the money raised would go toward the state's highways and mass transit systems, parts of which are in dire need of repair.

Posted by Info Center at 2:26 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Tracy Jordan, The Morning Call (PA), December 5, 2006

Easton Mayor Phil Mitman has promoted the lease of the city's water system as a way to generate a minimum $2million in annual revenues and eliminate the need to borrow $20 million for a water plant upgrade. But a closer look at the arrangement with Easton Suburban Water Authority whittles down those numbers significantly. …….. Skeptics of the plan, mostly city employees who don't want to see the labor union downsized, criticize the lease agreement as an easy solution to balance the budget and question whether the city has considered all the consequences. ''It's like the city is pushing this through without looking at other alternatives,'' said Missy Corrado, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 447. ''We don't believe that the city will receive all that money they are talking about.''

Posted by Info Center at 2:59 PM in Asset Sale/Lease | Water & Sewer | Permalink

Source: By Renae Merle, Washington Post, Tuesday, December 5, 2006

There are about 100,000 government contractors operating in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is approaching the size of the U.S. military force there, according to the military's first census of the growing population of civilians operating in the battlefield. The survey finding, which includes Americans, Iraqis and third-party nationals hired by companies operating under U.S. government contracts, is significantly higher and wider in scope than the Pentagon's only previous estimate, which said there were 25,000 security contractors in the country.

Posted by Info Center at 2:58 PM in Federal | Permalink

Source: By SUSAN HAIGH, Associated Press (CT), December 3, 2006

News that a private contractor installed a defective drainage system along I-84 is fueling efforts to resurrect a stalled bill that imposes new standards for privatized state contracts. Many Democrats, who will soon hold a veto-proof majority in both the House of Representatives and Senate, hope this new session _ which opens Jan. 3 _ will finally be their chance to pass the legislation. ….. Rell has ordered an independent, third-party audit of the I-84 project, the two contractors involved and the internal oversight of DOT. But state employee unions are questioning why yet another outside contractor is now getting involved in the problematic project instead of state workers.

Posted by Info Center at 2:56 PM in Horror Stories | Transportation | Permalink

Source: By Theodore Kim, Indianapolis Star (IN), December 4, 2006

Indiana's proposed welfare privatization contract with IBM and its partners includes penalties for mistakes in benefit claims and even for keeping callers on hold too long. But experts say making sure the companies deliver on their promises won't be easy. Monitoring the private consortium's performance will hinge largely on the IBM group's ability and trustworthiness in reporting accurate data to the state, the experts say. They question whether grievances about poor service will reach state officials. More broadly, these experts worry that the pressure for IBM to generate a profit while fulfilling exacting performance targets might compel the company to cut corners.

Posted by Info Center at 2:55 PM in Social Services | Permalink

Source: By Scott Higham and Robert O'Harrow Jr., Washington Post, Saturday, December 2, 2006

The new chief of the U.S. General Services Administration is trying to limit the ability of the agency's inspector general to audit contracts for fraud or waste and has said oversight efforts are intimidating the workforce, according to government documents and interviews. GSA Administrator Lurita Alexis Doan, a Bush political appointee and former government contractor, has proposed cutting $5 million in spending on audits and shifting some responsibility for contract reviews to small, private audit contractors.

Posted by Info Center at 2:52 PM in Audits/Reporting | Federal | Oversight/Contract Management | Permalink

Source: By THERESA AGOVINO, Associated Press, Wednesday, November 29, 2006 · Last updated 9:15 p.m. PT

NEW YORK -- Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in private, managed care plans cost the government 12.4 percent more than those in the traditional program last year, for a total cost of more than $5.2 billion, according to a study released Thursday.

Payments to what are called Medicare Advantage plans amounted to $922 per beneficiary over what a comparable enrollee would have spent in the traditional fee-for-service program, said a study by the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation supporting independent research on health and social issues. There are 5.6 million Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the Advantage plans.

Posted by Info Center at 9:55 AM in Federal | Health | Permalink

Source: By JESSICA DeLEÓN, STAR-TELEGRAM (TX), Fri, Dec. 01, 2006

BEDFORD - More than 50 residents braved Thursday's arctic blast to hear about the possibility of turning over the operations of the library to a private company. Most of the audience members appeared to want the city to remain in control of the library so that the local touch continues.

........ The American Library Association said in a 2001 statement that it opposes having private companies run public libraries because libraries should be directly accountable to the public.

Posted by Info Center at 9:47 AM in Library | Permalink