News

U.S. Postal Service Urged to Weigh Contracting Operations. The U.S. Postal Service should consider keeping door-to-door delivery while privatizing the rest of its operations, a panel led by former Government Accountability Office head David Walker found. San Francisco Chronicle

VA: Va. rejects bids to privatize facility that provides post-prison treatment for sex offenders. Virginia has rejected unsolicited bids by two companies to operate a state facility that detains violent sex offenders for treatment after their sentences are completed. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show that state officials who evaluated the proposals concluded that GEO Group, a private prisons operator based in Boca Raton, Fla., focused too much on incarceration and not enough on treatment. Liberty Healthcare Corp. of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., scored better on treatment but would have charged the state $2.4 million a year more than it is spending to run the facility itself. Washington Post

UT: Utah State Prison relocation takes step forward, It is far from a lock, but the Utah State Prison may be closer to a new home after lawmakers’ Thursday approved a prison bill to solicit proposals to make that happen. SB72, sponsored by Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, went through eight revisions before lawmakers were able to agree on makeup of the Prison Relocation and Development Authority (PRADA) board and whether to direct the board to solicit proposals to turn the prison’s programming and operations over to private contractors. Salt Lake Tribune

MI: Selling Lansing city hall, privatizing some city services proposed. The committee says city leaders should consider selling city hall and privatizing many city services.  Another recommendation is to consolidate city departments with other local governments. Former mayor David Hollister heads the mayor’s financial health team.  He says the proposals will be unpopular, but he believes they’re necessary to end Lansing’s chronic budget problems. Michigan Radio