November 1, 2013

News

OH: Bell discloses talks on privatizing Toledo Express Airport. Mayor Mike Bell disclosed on Wednesday that he has been in talks to turn over the operation of the city-owned Toledo Express Airport to a 26-year-old businessman. City emails turned over to The Blade show Dock David Treece, a partner in a West Toledo-based financial investment advisory firm — whose father was once a Republican Sylvania Township trustee — has tried for at least seven months to get the Bell administration interested in signing over complete control of the money-losing Toledo Express Airport. The emails make it clear Mr. Treece wants to cut Toledo City Council out of the process. Toledo Blade

VA: Tolling advocates cheer Virginia court ruling in their favor. Advocates of expanding tolling on U.S. highways are cheering a ruling by the Virginia Supreme Court that private-public partnerships can include tolls. A group of Virginia residents had challenged the inclusion of tolls on a pair of tunnel projects in Norfolk, Va., arguing that the tolls were really a tax that should only be levied by the state government. “Tolls are not a tax; they are a user fee,” Jones continued. …Lawmakers in Congress have suggested that they might consider emulating a Virginia plan to collect gas taxes on retailers instead of from drivers at the pump to boost revenue for federal transportation projects. The Hill (blog)

FL: When government, outsourcing and technology meet, it isn’t always pretty – commentary. Government functions are large-scale and complex. Due to the rallying call for smaller government over the past two decades, government agencies and state legislatures have attempted to privatize many of their functions. Stroll down memory lane with me as I recall several of Florida’s attempts to contract out the revamping of government services or administrative functions through the use of technology. Tampa Bay Tribune

GA: State may privatize student housing. The University System of Georgia may sell a significant portion of its student housing portfolio, the beginning of what could be an even larger privatization of its campus dorms.  Atlanta Business Chronicle