Headlines
LA: State Civil Service clears way for privatization, layoffs
GA: Augusta Commission votes down outsourcing HR department
NJ: County nursing homes are an endangered species in New Jersey
PA: Contract could derail liquor store privatization
WA: Mixed feelings about privatized liquor sales in Washington
MI: Flint emergency manager plans to privatize operation of city jail
NC: Billionaire privatization activists pushing ‘neovouchers’ for North Carolina
Privatized torture

LA: State Civil Service clears way for privatization, layoffs
The State Civil Service Commission cleared the way Wednesday for three state agencies to turn over some of their job functions to private contractors that will save the state about $4.3 million in costs for the fiscal year starting July 1 and result in 110 layoffs. It also gave a fourth agency, the secretary of state’s office, provisional approval to contract out security services at the State Archive and Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge, if some of the office’s budget cuts stand. First Assistant Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin said if the nine security jobs are abolished they will be turned over to a private company, saving about $271,000. “We may not have to do it,” Ardoin said. He said he wanted the panel’s approval in case the plan has to be activated. The biggest job hit will be 79 positions at the Department of Health and Hospitals where food service functions at four facilities for the aging and developmentally disabled will be turned over to Healthcare Services Group of Bensalem, Pa. Times Picayuane

GA: Augusta Commission votes down outsourcing HR department
Augusta commissioners ended months of debate Tuesday over whether to outsource most human resources functions to the global outsourcing firm Automatic Data Processing, approving 6-3 a motion to deny ADP’s contract offer…The debate over whether to outsource to ADP pitted ADP employees against city employees, with both sides spreading information about missteps the other was making. It also prompted some commissioners to consider the firm’s impact on Augusta, as it employs some 800 at a west Augusta call center. The agenda item had reappeared on commission agendas for months, but no ADP staffers appeared at Tuesday’s meeting. Augusta Chronicle

NJ: County nursing homes are an endangered species in New Jersey
County-run nursing homes in New Jersey could be headed for extinction. Four have been sold to private operators in the last 18 months…And some within the industry suspect that the remaining 16 aren’t far behind. With local government budgets shrinking, county-run nursing homes — the government’s traditional means of caring for seniors who lack money for a private facility — are steadily being privatized. New Jersey is joining a national trend: Government nursing homes are mostly a bygone institution elsewhere and represent less then 6 percent of nursing homes in the country, said Don Redfoot, an analyst with AARP. Outside the Northeast and Midwest, county homes are virtually nonexistent. In Pennsylvania, five county homes have been sold since 2010, with 32 remaining. Philadelphia Inquirer

PA: Contract could derail liquor store privatization
A new contract for union employees in liquor stores across the state could stall or even kill current efforts to remove liquor and wine sales from the hands of the state of Pennsylvania. The new contract for 3,500 employees runs through June 2015, according to Philly.com, and the union says one provision requires any private company that would buy the state stores to hire and pay union employees the same salary until the end of the contract.  Westchester Patch

WA: Mixed feelings about privatized liquor sales in Washington
Privatized liquor sales in the State of Washington started Friday for the first time in decades. “Well I think it’s pretty handy,” said customevr Leo Profitt. Handy is exactly what area retailers want customer Leo Profitt to think about when he walks into the local grocery store to buy liquor. Spirits are now on shelves all across Washington….But not everyone is happy. Customer Tyler Biggers said he’s sad to see locally owned liquor stores go. “You don’t have to deal with a corporation,” said Biggers. “I don’t think they care about the customers as much as the locally owned stores.” DeLane said a lot of customers coming into the area are coming through to check out the prices and see how much they have fluctuated. KLEW TV

MI: Flint emergency manager plans to privatize operation of city jail
When the city jail reopens later this year, a private company will apparently be watching the inmates. Flint emergency manager Michael Brown confirmed his decision to privatize the operation of the city lockup today after Genesee County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jamie Curtis was told Sheriff Robert Pickell was no longer in the running to handle the job. MLive.com

NC: Billionaire privatization activists pushing ‘neovouchers’ for North Carolina
North Carolina lawmakers are moving ahead with plans to establish an indirect voucher system that would help low-income children attend private or religious schools with public funds — and they are doing so with the financial support of billionaire school-privatization advocates from outside the state. The North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Program would allow corporations to donate to nonprofits that would provide scholarships of up to $4,000 per student. In turn, the corporations would receive tax credits allowing them to divert a total of up to $40 million of their state taxes next year, and even more in the future. Facing South

Privatized torture
On Friday, a federal appellate court ruled that private military contractors allegedly complicit in torture at Abu Ghraib aren’t immune from prosecution .As everyone knows, soldiers and civilian contractors at the Abu Ghraib prison committed criminal offenses, with military officials going so far as to hide prisoners from the Red Cross. In 2004, an independent panel of civilian defense experts found that Pentagon leaders helped create the conditions that led to the scandal. “The abuses were not just the failure of some individuals to follow known standards, and they are more than the failure of a few leaders to enforce proper discipline,” the report said. “There is both institutional and personal responsibility at higher levels.” Despite these findings, only low-ranking soldiers were sent to prison. New York Times

Headlines
Guess who would benefit from privatizing Medicare?
WA: Liquor privatization: prices could rise 10 to 30 percent
OH: Ohio State gets $483M bid for parking lease
OH: ODOT looking to privatize 5 state-owned rest areas
WI: Wisconsin’s pension system is doing fine – opinion
WI: Overhaul of Wisconsin welfare program criticized

Guess who would benefit from privatizing Medicare?
If you think the idea of privatizing Medicare has gone away, that the health insurance industry has thrown in the towel on one of its biggest goals, there was fresh evidence last week that you would be wrong. As I wrote more than a year ago — when Rep. Paul Ryan (R.-Wis.) unveiled his plan to replace the Medicare system with one that would essentially be run by private insurers — Democrats would be foolish to think that Ryan couldn’t get the public to support the concept. I noted then that insurers would be investing heavily in efforts to convince people that Ryan’s plan represented the only way to save the Medicare program from insolvency. Huffington Post

WA: Liquor privatization: prices could rise 10 to 30 percent
Washington state has extricated itself from decades in the liquor business, a move that is likely to give drinkers a headache when they reach for bottled spirits on local store shelves. Under a measure approved by voters in November, Washington on Friday became the first state since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 to privatize a government-run liquor retail and distribution system dating to the 1930s. …The bad news for customers is that on average, per-bottle prices on liquor could rise between 10 percent and 30 percent, retailers say. The initiative imposed a new fee structure that raises those costs by 27 percent, which will likely be passed on to consumers, said Brian Smith, spokesman for the Washington State Liquor Control Board. Reuters

OH: Ohio State gets $483M bid for parking lease
The deal, still tentative, for a 50-year lease to run the university’s parking lots is one of several steps by Ohio State to build its financial reserves as government support dwindles. The City of Chicago made a similar deal in 2009, granting a 75-year lease of its parking meters to a private company…The university recently sold 100-year bonds, a first for a public university, raising $500 million; it made a $25 million exclusive deal with a local bank for campus A.T.M.’s and other services and is looking into privatizing its airport…Colleges and universities have increasingly looked to deals with outside businesses to raise money, turning over parking lots or campus bookstores to private operators, typically in return for a stream of revenue. But a half-century deal with a huge upfront payment is another matter…The plan has stirred controversy on a campus where, according to the school, about 100,000 students and employees park each day. Responding to concerns, the university has included in the deal limits on price increases, and flexibility to increase parking supply. Chicago’s parking meter lease raised $1.15 billion for the city, but it has been widely criticized as leading to steep price increases and a chronic problem of malfunctioning meters. New York Times

OH: ODOT looking to privatize 5 state-owned rest areas
ODOT Director Jerry Wray has said the leases could help offset the costs of maintaining the state’s 104 rest areas, which cost the state $30 million and $50 million annually to maintain. Two rest areas along U.S. Route 50 in Athens County, two along U.S. Route 33 in Hocking County and one rest stop along U.S. 23 in Pickaway County are in question. The request opens the door for bidders to potentially lease the rest areas and allow the bidders to place convenience stores, gas stations, restaurants or other commercial entities on the sites. Bids are due by July 20. 10TV.com

WI: Wisconsin’s pension system is doing fine – opinion
An op-ed published Thursday in the Journal Sentinel from the right-wing, Washington, D.C.,-based Heritage Foundation suggested that changes should be made to our state’s pension program for hundreds of thousands of educators and other public workers in Wisconsin. The implication of these proposed changes is that the Wisconsin Retirement System is in need of improvement or better management or that it is in financial peril. Nothing could be further from the truth…The reality is that the WRS is one of the best-run, best-funded and most secure retirement systems in the nation. Even during the recent economic collapse, it remained stable, when systems in other states did not fare as well. This is owed to proper management and investments – and sound financial decisions that benefit every taxpayer of Wisconsin, not just the ones whose delayed compensation is invested into their retirement through the WRS…Don’t listen to out-of-state conservative talking points from the Heritage Foundation; the real risk is in privatizing the WRS, which is what is motivating the WRS study Gov. Scott Walker included in the current state budget. This is yet another way to provide a political kickback to Walker’s out-of-state supporters. The privatization scheme has been tried in other states, to negative consequence, which included hefty fees for users and deteriorating returns. Journal Sentinel

WI: Overhaul of Wisconsin welfare program criticized
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is leading a statewide coalition calling for an immediate suspension of the Walker administration’s plans to overhaul the way the state’s welfare-to-work program is delivered. Wisconsin Works, known as W-2, started in 1997 as part of a national welfare reform movement aimed at encouraging families to work toward self-sufficiency. It offers people monthly cash payments for participating in job training and employment programs with the goal of connecting low-income families with job opportunities and emergency assistance. W-2 is currently run by 20 individual counties, six groups of counties, and a number of private contractors, state officials said. But Parisi accused the state Department of Children and Families (DCF) of having “quietly put in motion” changes that would effectively fully privatize the program. He said the DCF’s move could result in the closing of the Dane County Job Center and other “one-stop-shop” county job centers around the state. Central Wisconsin Hub

Headlines
The unfunded liabilities you love
NY: Suburbs cut public workers
PA: State store privatizing bill revived in House
LA: Louisiana  makes bold bid to privatize schools
OH: Highway repair to go private?
OH: OSU students, faculty unsure about pending $483M parking lease
OR: O&C act fails to guard public interest in forests – opinion

The unfunded liabilities you love
Here it comes: economic Armageddon. Reckless promises to finance the future costs of health care and retirement contribute to a crushing debt burden on American families that can be relieved only by cutting back on the size of government. Mr. Romney seems to believe that government spending cuts would simply reduce unfunded liabilities — projected commitments that are not covered by projected revenues. But they are likely to simply redistribute these liabilities, shifting them from government to individuals — especially those with children to educate, or sick, disabled or frail family members to care for…If public spending on health, education and retirement declines, private spending will increase, though probably not by the same amount, because some families won’t be able to afford the services they need and will go without. Family financial instability will increase. Growing debt among college students is largely a consequence of declining public support for higher education. Many families are only one job loss or medical emergency away from bankruptcy. New York Times

NY: Suburbs cut public workers
Still reeling from the effects of the 2008 recession, suburban governments across Greater New York are closing big budget deficits with a measure of last resort: public-sector layoffs..Suffolk County on Long Island is facing its largest wave of public-sector layoffs since the early 1990s, with more than 300 non-police positions set to be slashed on July 1. Yonkers is proposing the elimination of 112 police officers, firefighters and public works employees as it tries to close an $89 million hole in its $938 million budget.And across New Jersey, cities, towns and counties have carried out or are contemplating at least 1,000 layoffs, according to the state Civil Service Commission..The series of job cuts demonstrates how suburban governments are reckoning with rising pension costs and continuing to feel the effects of an economic downturn that ravaged local tax revenues. Having exhausted their other options—raiding rainy-day funds, taking advances in state aid and grasping at other one-time revenue shots—suburban officials are increasingly turning toward cutting jobs.  Wall Street Journal‎

PA: State store privatizing bill revived in House
Though June is crunch time for the state budget — and it’s nearly summer in an election year — Pennsylvania House Republicans are making another push for action on a bill to privatize the state’s Liquor Control Board. Philadelphia Inquirer

LA: Louisiana  makes bold bid to privatize schools
Louisiana is embarking on the nation’s boldest experiment in privatizing public education, with the state preparing to shift tens of millions in tax dollars out of the public schools to pay private industry, businesses owners and church pastors to educate children. Starting this fall, thousands of poor and middle-class kids will get vouchers covering the full cost of tuition at more than 120 private schools across Louisiana, including small, Bible-based church schools. The following year, students of any income will be eligible for mini-vouchers that they can use to pay a range of private-sector vendors for classes and apprenticeships not offered in traditional public schools. The money can go to industry trade groups, businesses, online schools and tutors, among others. Every time a student receives a voucher of either type, his local public school will lose a chunk of state funding. INDOlink

OH: Highway repair to go private?
State transportation officials are considering paying private contractors to plow snow, fill potholes and take over maintenance of I-270 in central Ohio and a 100-mile stretch of I-71 between Columbus and Cincinnati. The plans are part of a stepped-up effort to cut costs and produce new income that could shorten threatened delays for dozens of highway projects statewide. The Ohio Department of Transportation says it needs $1.6 billion to keep its construction schedule on track, and it has an additional $10 billion in work being planned with no current way to pay for its completion. “We cannot wait for Washington to send more money,” Director Jerry Wray said last week in an address to department employees, contractors, legislators and local officials. “We have to focus on what we control and what we can change now in Ohio.” Jim Riley, a deputy ODOT director hired in March to run a new division that will spearhead such revenue efforts, said he has just begun studying the idea of privatizing maintenance and couldn’t project how much money it might save. Columbus Dispatch

OH: OSU students, faculty unsure about pending $483M parking lease
Ohio State officials announced the highest bid for leasing university parking assets to an outside firm as $483 million, and many students and faculty are still unsure on the possible deal…If recommended to the Board and then passed, the private company, which has yet to be named, will take over operations of all permit sales, parking lots and parking garages for a 50-year period…Another Faculty Council member, Enrico Bonello, a professor in plant pathology, was not convinced the proposal was a good deal for the university. “This is tragic for Ohio State, because it shows a complete top-down control of the financial well being of the institution, one which, in this case, is based on a huge gamble,” Bonello said. Alutto said the administration has a number of meetings and planning stages set before making its recommendation to the Board at its meeting June 21-22. The Lantern

OR: O&C act fails to guard public interest in forests – opinion
The act is a political effort to achieve the de facto privatization of 1.5 million acres of public land. Its aim is to increase logging by decreasing citizen involvement and environmental protection. The act would privatize federal forestlands in Oregon currently managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. These forests are now subject to citizen comment and the scientifically astute management guidelines of the Northwest Forest Plan. Supporters try to convince us that this is the only practical way to increase and stabilize timber supplies, revenue and employment. They aren’t telling us how previous privatization schemes worked out. The Shelton Ranger District in Washington was privatized as a “sustained yield unit.” Logging, related employment and revenue boomed until the 110,000 acre district was quickly cut out. Taking the Shelton District out from under federal protection eventually resulted in denuded and eroded watersheds and lost salmon runs. Communities forfeited their future, forest and livelihood while Simpson Timber Co. made millions. The Register Guard

Headlines
Localities squeezed by reduction in state aid and property taxes
Troubled times at the State Fair
Is your state asking Congress for toll roads to close budget gaps?
WA: Washington state Supreme Court upholds liquor privatization in 5-4 decision
IN: Gov Daniels fights to keep state’s Toll Road perk
WI: Coalition calls for suspension of state efforts to privatize W-2
FL: Miami-Dade questions $1.7M in stadium expenses

Localities squeezed by reduction in state aid and property taxes
While states slowly rebound from the Great Recession, many local governments are struggling with unprecedented fiscal challenges. For the first time since 1980, state aid and property taxes, two primary sources of funding, are dropping simultaneously, according to a new report, The Local Squeeze, released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The decrease in revenue, alongside increased demand, is forcing many cities, counties and school districts to eliminate jobs; increase class sizes and shorten school days; reduce services such as public safety, library hours and trash collection; and privatize functions such as park maintenance and 911 dispatching, among other measures. “In many places, the impact of revenue shortfalls and increased need for services has been wide and deep,” said Robert Zahradnik, director of research for Pew’s new American Cities Project. “Going forward, local policy makers will have more tough choices to make. It is unclear whether these changes will be temporary or permanent, but the impacts of the squeeze will be felt for years to come. MarketWatch

Troubled times at the State Fair
On a rainy Monday afternoon in mid-May,  Jeff Carpenter gazed out on the grounds of the State Fair of Virginia, of which he was the sole remaining caretaker. After a life of more than 150 years, the fair had closed. The grounds were about to be auctioned off to the highest bidder. Carpenter was philosophical — and historical. “The Virginia state fair went quiet during the Civil War and during World War II,” he said, “but it always came back.” Carpenter is hopeful that even under new ownership, the fair will come back this time too. But this time is different. The non-profit agency running the fair defaulted on more than $70 million in loans and was forced into Chapter 7 liquidation after the fair was moved from its original Richmond location to The Meadow Event Park grounds just outside Fredericksburg in 2009.  The Meadow Event Park and the State Fair of Virginia, Inc., the non-profit organization responsible for bringing together the annual livestock, entertainment and fried food festival for the state, were sold at auction last week to the for-profit, Tennessee-based Universal Fairs, LLC, for $5.67 million. The sale is the latest example of a cash-strapped state fair turning to a for-profit company in an effort to continue a remnant of the fair tradition, but also to make money. Stateline

Is your state asking Congress for toll roads to close budget gaps?
States are finding it next to impossible to come up with the funding they need for these expenses and are turning to Congress to request permission for toll roads to help raise money they need. Automotive Discovery

WA: Washington state Supreme Court upholds liquor privatization in 5-4 decision
The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a voter-approved initiative privatizing liquor sales, one day before the measure takes effect. Initiative 1183 allows stores larger than 10000 square feet and some smaller stores to begin selling liquor Friday. Voters approved the plan last fall, and the state already auctioned off the rights to sell liquor at state stores…However, initiative opponents filed suit, arguing that the measure violates state rules requiring initiatives to address only one subject. The measure included a provision for public safety funding.  A judge rejected that claim, but opponents appealed to the Supreme Court. In a 5-4 decision, the court ruled that the opponents had not overcome the presumption that the initiative meets single-subject rules. Washington Post

IN: Gov Daniels fights to keep state’s Toll Road perk
Gov. Mitch Daniels wants Congress to say no to a proposal that would punish states such as Indiana that operate public-private highways…The provision would include the 75-year lease of the Indiana Toll Road to a foreign consortium, plus plans to replace bridges in East Chicago and over the Ohio River with toll spans that will be at least partly privatized…Daniels touted the Toll Road lease and the $4 billion it produced for the Indiana highway construction program known as Major Moves. “We are in a record building boom. … You can’t go 10 miles in our state right now without running into a road grader or a major project.” Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

WI: Coalition calls for suspension of state efforts to privatize W-2
Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is leading a statewide coalition calling for the immediate suspension of state plans to fully privatize the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program. W-2 is a program that helps people get back on their feet after times of trouble, such as losing a job. It connects low-income families with employment opportunities and emergency assistance…Recently the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families started taking bids, from both the private and public sectors to start running it the program. Parisi said cuts proposed by the Department of Children and Families would come at the worst possible time. He also questioned the effectiveness of a private model to run W-2. “If the state wants to say this works better in privatization, let’s compare some of the results, say from Dane County and other counties who do it themselves with some counties where it’s been privatized, and I think you could talk to some of the people in these counties where it’s been privatized and you’ll find that the results have not been great,” Parisi said. the state as to why it wants to privatize the program. “It’s also incumbent on the state, if they’re going to come in and wipe out a program in a couple months without any legislative action, just to quietly issue an RFP, it’s incumbent on the state to tell us why,” Parisi said. Channel 3000

FL: Miami-Dade questions $1.7M in stadium expenses
Miami-Dade County officials are questioning $1.7 million in expenses that baseball’s Miami Marlins say should be credited to the team for its share of the construction costs of a new ballpark, the Miami Herald reports. Under an agreement between the team and the county, the Marlins could spend up to $89.5 million on “soft costs” that would count toward their $120 million portion of the project. They wound up spending $38.5 million in soft costs, but the county says the Marlins shouldn’t have counted expenses like its cable bill, wine purchased for a party, and pillow cases used in an office as part of those soft costs. “If I were the mayor, I’d certainly hire an outside group, forensic accountants, to look into this,” said Norman Braman, the auto magnate who aggressively fought construction of the stadium. An arbiter will ultimately rule on whether those items should count. The disputed expenses are the latest controversy for the $634 million stadium and parking garage. More than 80 percent of the project’s total costs was funded by public money, according to the Miami Herald, and the team gets to keep almost all the revenue the project generates.  Governing