March 23, 2012

Headlines
NY: Cuomo seeks law for private investment in new Tappan Zee Bridge
CA: Whistle-blower says city jobs sent to India
MI: Michigan symposium to explore privatization
LA: Jindal’s education proposal basics expected to pass the House
NY: Viewpoint: Outsourcing nursing home jobs hurts residents
OH: Ohio Gov’s budget could force town to privatize fire and EMS services

NY: Cuomo seeks law for private investment in new Tappan Zee Bridge
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seeking legislation that would allow private-equity firms to help finance construction of public-works projects, including a new $5.2 billion Tappan Zee Bridge. The bill would authorize the state to lease bridges, roads and state buildings to help pay for construction, maintenance and operations of infrastructure…Carlyle Group LP (CG) and Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG) are among companies expressing interest in the Tappan Zee…Last year, the state Senate approved a measure that would create a nine-member commission to determine which projects are best suited for private financing. It would then execute and oversee the contracts. The bill, which covered only transportation projects, stalled in the Assembly. Rae said Cuomo is interested in a measure that would include state buildings and possibly parks…As public funding for infrastructure projects has dried up, New York needs to look for other sources, Transportation Commissioner Joan McDonald said in a Senate hearing on Fuschillo’s bill..New York is ripe for investment because it already has tolls on bridges and tunnels leading in and out of New York City as well as on more than 500 miles of highway from Buffalo to Manhattan, said D.J. Gribbin, managing director of Macquarie Capital (USA) Inc., who helped advise Puerto Rico on its public- private partnership law. Macquarie Capital is a division of Australia’s biggest investment bank. Bloomberg

CA: Whistle-blower says city jobs sent to India
A whistle-blower lawsuit claims that the firm hired to take over the computer help desk for San Diego city operations — saving money for taxpayers — did it by outsourcing the jobs to India in violation of its contract. The employee accuses the company of an elaborate cover-up to hide the offshore work from city officials and says sensitive information, such as police records, may have been vulnerable to abuse.  The city conducted an investigation and found no evidence to back up the allegations…The contract with Gardena-based En Pointe was the city’s first foray into outsourcing under Mayor Jerry Sanders, who has pushed privatization of certain services as a way to reduce the costs of city government. The work had been performed for 30 years by the San Diego Data Processing Corp., a nonprofit city agency, but had never been competitively bid until Sanders took office. ..Dominguez, an account manager, also says En Pointe had Allied Digital workers put fake name plates on their cubicles for a site visit by city officials to the Gardena offices and had them use dummy “enpointe.com” emails for any communications with the city. He said he was fired Oct. 3 after he raised concerns that the firm might be violating its contract. UTSandDiego.com

MI: Michigan symposium to explore privatization
Organizers of a Friday event at Wayne State University in Detroit say state lawmakers have responded to the recent wave of economic hardship facing Michigan cities and schools with a controversial agenda that has transformed local governments and allowed for the transfer of public assets into private hands. The nature and impact of these changes will be explored Friday at a symposium at Wayne State’s Law School called “Michigan in Transition: The Restructuring of Governance Through Privatization and Corporatization.” The event is sponsored by the the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights and the “Journal of Law In Society,” a publication put together by Wayne State law students. U.S. Rep. Hansen Clarke (D-Detroit) will provide the symposium’s morning keynote address and will focus on the transition of governments under emergency managers. Columbia University Professor Elliott Sclar, author of the book “You Don’t Always Get What You Pay For: The Economics of Privatization,” will give the afternoon keynote address.Conference-goers will also tackle the consequences of the privatization of Detroit’s water system and health care system. Huffington Post

LA: Jindal’s education proposal basics expected to pass the House
The anchor measures of Gov. Bobby Jindal’s proposed restructuring of primary and secondary education are expected to pass the Louisiana House of Representatives on Thursday, but not without significant debate over how to structure a statewide program that uses taxpayer money for private-school tuition aid. Leading lawmakers said they do not expect fundamental changes to Jindal’s proposals to expand publicly financed charter schools, curtail teacher tenure protections and tie teacher pay to formulas driven by student performance. But Capitol hallways and the House floor were a flurry of activity Wednesday, as lawmakers huddled in small groups to hash out details over, among other things, who should be eligible for the tuition assistance and what kind of accountability provisions should be imposed on private schools that accept the public money.  The Times-Picayune

NY: Viewpoint: Outsourcing nursing home jobs hurts residents
..To say that I am worried for our residents is an understatement. Our residents are people who have had many children, worked their entire lives, lived through the Depression, lived through war and drafts of both their children and themselves, and now they are facing the possible sale of the home they live in. They have already given up so much; many have lost their spouses, some have lost children and none of them have the home they worked their entire lives for. Instead, they have us, the people who work at the Steuben County Health Care Facility. If we were outsourced, meaning they would hire different companies to come in and do the work at the lowest bid, there would be different people coming and going all the time. The maintenance people they are used to could be switched with a grumpy worker who could very well hire by the minute. Many of our residents know our maintenance crew by name and have good relationships with them…Outsourcing is just the tip of the iceberg. If they decide to sell, many or all of us could be out of jobs. I know there is a public worker stereotype; many people think county workers receive humongous paychecks and have time to take an afternoon nap. Last year, I made less than $35,000. Yes, the benefits are excellent, but we’re not all stuffed shirts. We are regular people like you, trying to get by. Where are we going to go when we are out of jobs? The unemployment line. Social services. Medicaid. The end result of 100-plus workers out of jobs could be astronomical to the area. I invite anyone to come and see our level of commitment, see how happy our residents are — because it is you, the taxpayers, who own this facility. Be the judge of whether our residents deserve to have a wonderful place to live, and I hope you are as committed to caring as we are. I also invite our legislators to come and take a look, meet our people and make an informed decision. Elmira Star-Gazette

OH: Ohio Gov’s budget could force town to privatize fire and EMS services
This year, cuts in Kasich’s budget are again causing ripple effects in the area of public safety — this time by forcing one town near Cincinnati to choose between raising taxes or privatizing its fire and EMS services. According to a video released by Township Trustee Tom Weidman at the beginning of the process, the Township’s financial problems can be tied directly to Kasich’s budget. Local officials were shocked and amazed when Kasich and the legislature “abruptly ended” the “important source of income” from the Local Government Fund, the Tangible Personal Property Tax and the Estate Tax…And while towns like Sycamore are forced to sell off public safety, Kasich’s latest economic plan provides a break for the richest Ohioans. Under his proposed income tax cuts, the state’s top one percent would receive a quarter of the benefits. The middle class, meanwhile, wouldn’t receive enough to pay for a tank of gas.ThinkProgress