This was submitted as an idea to the Politifest 2012 Idea Tournament. VOSD members will vote on the best ideas and on Sept. 19 we’ll announce six contenders (Not a member? Join now to vote). At Politifest on Sept. 29, each of the six finalists will have five minutes to pitch their idea to a panel. The panel rates the ideas and two finalists advance. The crowd at Politifest will vote on a winner. The winner will receive an “idea-inspired” trophy custom-designed by former City Councilwoman Donna Frye. VOSD CEO Scott Lewis will also write about the winner’s idea.
The city has struggled to cut costs over the last decade, but has not dealt with the most potentially lucrative savings area: simply getting out of activities that are not clearly part of what the public expects it to do. My favorite example is a cemetery called Mount Hope, which runs at an annual loss, as do two airports and at least two of the three golf courses the city owns and operates. There are countless others, including a lot of city-managed property that’s just sitting there, often unoccupied.
Instead of just examining “outsourcing,” let’s look at various city functions with an eye to getting rid of them.
Bill Bradshaw submitted this idea to the Politifest 2012 Idea Tournament. Join us on Sept. 29!