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Service Level Creep <br /> Government operations are routinely criticised for being too expensive. Waste and <br /> inefficiency are the usual targets, however the majority of the growth in government <br /> spending comes from increased service levels requested by citizens. This is a natural <br /> process that arises from an open government that is always there to hear the requests of <br /> its citizens. Service levels creep up incrementally until taxing limits are reached and the <br /> search begins for cost savings. Cost savings due to improved efficiency can be <br /> significant but seldom as large as hoped. However, huge cost reductions can be made by <br /> the often painful process of service level reductions but the usual hope is that this can be <br /> avoided. In this report major service level costs will be identified but no suggestions will <br /> be made for reduction since this is essentially a community decision. <br /> Privatization <br /> Contracting and privatization <br /> are often used interchangeably Total agency workforce <br /> by people when discussing the ¦ Some work by other agencies <br /> role of private enterprise in <br /> ¦ Some .work by contract <br /> <br /> 1 government operations. The <br /> chart at the right is meant to All work by contract <br /> i <br /> show that whatever you want to ¦ Selling out <br /> call the practice, there area .Franchise <br /> number of options available to ¦ No regulation <br /> government to provide a <br /> particular service. Clearly, one <br /> size doesn't fit all. Local conditions cause people to choose different options when a fair <br /> analysis has been done. <br /> r <br /> Total Agency Workforce is seldom done. Every city buys some of its service from an <br /> outside agency or contractor. In practice, however, most cities do most of the functions <br /> of road maintenance with their own forces. This can be because they haven't evaluated <br /> other methods or because they have evaluated other methods and found this way to best <br /> meet their needs. In a well run organization, in-house employees can provide good <br /> customer service and be quickly remobilized to do odd jobs or handle emergencies. <br /> There are also efficiencies that come from supervisors providing not only supervision but <br /> ~ quality control and the contract administration that has to be done by someone when <br /> service is provided by an outside contractor. <br /> Some work by other agencies is a choice that occurs frequently and is often overlooked <br /> as a contracting approach. A large agency can have the ability to buy materials in large <br /> volumes at lower cost or they may have a particular service "down to a science" because <br /> it's their primary function or they may have excess capacity to sell for a variety of <br /> reasons. In all of these cases, the larger agency may be able to use the benefits of its <br /> 6 <br /> <br />