Charles Shiflett Column May 9, 2004

Adairsville Is Leading The Way

Like many small towns, Adairsville has had its share of problems over the years. The myriad of state
and federal regulations that must be complied with by municipal governments can be confusing at
best. As cities attempt to expand the scope of services they provide residents, the levels of
management required increase until a classic bureaucracy is soon created.

The reason I mention Adairsville is because they've recently begun to buck the trend of bloated
government by privatizing their garbage collection service. To many of you this may not seem like a
big deal, but it should be. It's difficult for elected officials at any level to not just restrain growth, but to
actually reduce the size of government operations. Hats off to the Adairsville City Council!

So how are the residents of Adairsville impacted with this move? First, the price of garbage pickup for
residents will be almost $4.00 per month lower per home than before. Plus, the city's new private
waste management company has agreed to provide some additional courtesy services to residents
and the city. The city will also receive a franchise fee from the provider.

What was lost by privatizing garbage pickup? No city owned garbage truck to maintain. No liability
exposure and no expensive worker's compensation bills or claims. No potential for using the garbage
department as a jobs program for friends and relatives. No city management of the garbage program
required. Plus the new garbage service provider will handle all billing and collections. All potential risks
have been shifted to the private sector.

The lesson is simple - put the free market to work by letting private firms compete against each other
for the right to provide services. In doing so, efficiencies are maximized and prices are reduced. The
good news is there are many areas where cities can look to the private sector rather than sticking with
their own government-operated services.

In addition to garbage collection some cities have privatized road maintenance, landscape
maintenance, computer repair, data processing, payroll services, and utility billing to name a few. Let's
not stop here - consolidation of services with other local governments is another means of presenting
real savings to taxpayers.

Again Adairsville is taking the lead. The city is in the process of discussing with Bartow County the
possibility of turning over the city fire department to the county. Bartow County already operates a fire
station just outside the city limits and consolidating this station with the existing city unit could save
the city up to $400,000 annually according to one estimate I've seen.

Again we ask how local residents would be impacted… No reduction in coverage or emergency
response times. No increase in homeowner's insurance premiums. Factor in the possibility of
$400,000 in savings added back to the City's bank account and this looks like a no-brainer.

Consolidation of services can be risky for elected officials. The status quo is being shaken and
obviously some government jobs will be eliminated. Elected officials also lose power as their domain is
downsized. But the savings are real, as are potential improvements in service.

There are only so many tax dollars available in this county to use for things such as fire protection. As
Bartow County and its cities continue to grow, consolidating all fire and rescue services into one
organization could be a great test to see how such restructuring of government could reduce costs and
benefit local residents.

This move would require great leadership from Cartersville's elected officials as well as our County
Commissioner, but with encouragement from community leaders it come quickly become reality. Our
local governments have been ahead of the curve before and we now have another opportunity to show
Georgia how government should work… and this time Adairsville is boldly leading the way.