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New Jersey Privatization Initiative

July 9, 2010, 9:55 pm

New Jersey under Christie continues to be a leader in challenging traditional government models.   I discuss and link to some of the findings over at my privatization blog, including some interesting findings on recreation.  This is from Reason's Len Gilroy:

Park management concession agreements: Having written numerous articles in recent months suggesting that states embrace the private operation of state parks"”something relatively "new" to states, but common at the federal level"”it was particularly rewarding to see the Task Force embrace the concept, recommending that the state should enter into one or more long"term concession agreements with private recreation firms for the operation and management of all state parks. Annual savings to the state were estimated to range between $6-8 million annually, a significant sum relative to overall park spending. This is the boldest, most sweeping call for state park privatization that I've personally ever seen at the state level, and Gov. Christie and NJ State Parks have an opportunity to blaze a new and transformational path forward on state parks management that policymakers in every state should be watching closely.

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Category: Private Recreation Management

3 Comments

  1. Not Sure:

    But if privatizing the parks will save money, how will the state be able to use the threat of closing them to extort more tax dollars from their subjects- errr... citizens, I meant to say- citizens?

    July 9, 2010, 10:05 pm

  2. mesaeconoguy:

    Christie is giving the invisible finger to Obama’s market-mocking directive hand.

    July 10, 2010, 12:07 am

  3. Henry Bowman:

    An article from a New Jersey paper includes this ominous specter from a memer of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation:

    The task force said the state could save up to $8.2 million if companies ran all of New Jersey’s 58 parks. The state already permits some private operations in parks, such as concession stands, marinas and boat rentals. But the parks themselves are run by state employees.

    Emile DeVito of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation questioned whether the state could privatize the parks and still meet the mission of protecting forests and wildlife.

    "We are supposed to be managing for the protection of natural resources. I don’t know what this does to that," he said.

    This seems typical: privatization will absolutely destroy parks and other state services, because those money-grubbing, evil capitalists will rape the planet!

    July 10, 2010, 6:38 pm