Headlines
PBS chief defends public TV against Romney’s call for end to public funding
IL: Parents sit-in at Chicago mayor’s office over public schools
CA: Outsourcing’s effects on government transparency
NE: Child welfare reform to occupy Unicam
MA: New mayor looks to privatize Methuen IT department
WA: Privatizing the lottery is “a gamble that won’t pay off”
MN: Cash-strapped MN town hires private guards for policing duties
News summaries
PBS chief defends public TV against Romney’s call for end to public funding
PBS chief Paula Kerger said Wednesday that she recognizes the United States has to make tough budget decisions but defended PBS as an effective public-private partnership. Kerger says that while she can make the argument, elected officials listen to to their constituents. Romney has criticized public funding for PBS while campaigning for the GOP presidential nomination. He has said he doesn’t intend to “kill Big Bird” of “Sesame Street” but that public TV shows will have to become ad-supported. Kerger says that federal rules governing public broadcasting prohibit commercials. She adds that commercial TV channels are notably different than PBS and contrasts History Channel’s “American Pickers” with a Ken Burns’ documentary. Washington Post
IL: Parents sit-in at Chicago mayor’s office over public schools
Community, teachers begin sit-in outside Mayor Emanuel’s City Hall office demanding an end to threatened school closings, turnarounds, phase outs and other attacks on public schools. More than 200 people ranging in age from infants to senior citizens in their 70s began a sit-in outside the fifth floor City Hall office of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel at noon on January 4, 2012. The sit-in, organized by KOCO (the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization) and a number of allied community groups, teachers, parent and religious leaders, promises to remain at City Hall until Emanuel rescinds the threat of school closings and turnarounds this school year. Substance News
CA: Outsourcing’s effects on government transparency
While cities like Costa Mesa and Santa Ana consider outsourcing numerous city services to the private sector, open-government advocates say that unless cities require companies to disclose records related to those services, members of public wouldn’t be entitled to them under state law. “The public is entitled to have access to relevant information … about a corporation’s performance of these previously governmental functions,” said Peter Scheer, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition. Not requiring disclosure of the relevant records, he said, “would hinder accountability and transparency. Those companies are not in the business of accountability and transparency to the public.” The decades-long trend toward outsourcing services at all levels of government has gathered momentum in recent years as the recession has wreaked havoc on traditional sources of government revenue. Voice of OC
NE: Child welfare reform to occupy Unicam
Gov. Dave Heineman authorized a privatization of child welfare services that began in 2009 in an attempt to improve care and save on state expenses. That effort, Schumacher said, “has not gone terribly well” as a report from State Auditor Mike Foley revealed overspending and a lack of management. Child welfare advocacy groups have decried the governor’s move. In his 152-page report issued four months ago, Foley said the state spent millions more than expected and failed to provide accountability for these costs in its attempt to partially privatize the child welfare system. Costs went up 27 percent from 2009 to 2011, growing from $107.7 million to $136.5 million, the report showed. To overhaul the system now would likely take even more money, Schumacher said – “more money we don’t have.”
“It’s going to be very difficult,” the Columbus attorney said. “Once you try to go down a road of privatization it’s really hard to put it in reverse. But if it isn’t working, it’s really not smart to go forward either.” Columbus Telegram
MA: New mayor looks to privatize Methuen IT department
An effort to privatize the city Information Technology department is gaining momentum and appears to be an early priority for Mayor Stephen Zanni…That could mean hiring a private company to build and maintain an IT network for the city and offer employees technical support, or leasing — rather than purchasing — computers and other hardware at City Hall, which Zanni said are now old and in need of replacement…Zanni is reviewing all municipal departments as he takes over for former Mayor William Manzi and he said the IT department is first on his list. “I’m going to look at every single department,” said Zanni. “It’s going to take a little time over the next few months.” Eaglet Tribune
WA: Privatizing the lottery is “a gamble that won’t pay off”
Liberal former state Rep. Brendan Williams—who quit the legislature to protest what he saw as a lack of leadership in the Democratic Party—argues in The Stand today that Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposal to privatize the state lottery is “a gamble that won’t pay off,” arguing that efforts at privatization in other states have lined politicians’ and lobbyists’ pockets while doing little to boost states’ bottom lines. Publicola
MN: Cash-strapped MN town hires private guards for policing duties
A small Minnesota town is set to embark on a radical civic experiment: replacing cops with a private security force. Yesterday, wearing uniforms and carrying sidearms, security guards began doing 24-hour patrols every day of the week on the shady streets of Foley, a community of 2,600 surrounded by farmland, northeast of St. Cloud. The cost-saving move has triggered worry among some that town leaders may have gone too far, taking some life-or-death responsibilities out of the hands of those with the legal authority to enforce the law….Foley is the first town in Minnesota and one of a few nationally to try relying solely on private guards for street patrols. The Daily