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Local Governments Consider Outsourcing Tasks

Choe Kwangmo/Wikimedia
A city would not outsource firefighting... would it?

Take a look at your property tax bill and note how much money goes to local government.  And still schools and cities and counties struggle to provide services with the money that comes in--especially in counties that traditionally depended on federal timber receipts, now mostly gone. 

So counties and cities look to the private sector to take on what were public services, from libraries to mental health. 

Matt Rowe is a former mayor of Coquille, with a perspective on what leads smaller cities to consider outsourcing. 

Bruce Sorte from the Rural Studies Program at Oregon State University studies policy options that face smaller governments.  They join us for a discussion of needs and options.  

 

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.
April Ehrlich is an editor and reporter at Oregon Public Broadcasting. Prior to joining OPB, she was a news host and regional reporter at Jefferson Public Radio.