Manager of the ‘City That Outsourced Everything’ Says Privatization Can Help Michigan [Mackinac Center]

Residents happy and officials in Sandy Springs, Ga., get re-elected with huge margin

When Sandy Springs, Ga., became the “city that outsourced everything” in 2005, it did it out of necessity.

Today, the town of about 100,000 residents has great roads, a state of the art traffic system, award-winning parks, and has funded major capital improvements every year without once raising taxes.

Oliver Porter served as the interim city manager for Sandy Springs and spoke about his experience in that role at a Mackinac Center for Public Policy “Issues and Ideas” forum in Lansing on Wednesday.

“I judge [city] success on two factors: efficiency and response to the public,” Porter said. “Based on that, we’ve been a success.”

Before Porter got there, the city was a part of Fulton County, paying high taxes for few services. For decades, Sandy Springs had petitioned the Georgia Legislature to allow it to form its own government. In 2005, the state finally allowed it, contingent on a vote of the people.

via Manager of the ‘City That Outsourced Everything’ Says Privatization Can Help Michigan [Mackinac Center].