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PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS TAKE CENTER STAGE
AT CONGRESS OF CITIES |
Municipal Officials to Discuss Successes, Challenges in Water and Wastewater |
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, Dec. 6 -/E-Wire/--
Municipal governments and the private sector are working together to tackle new challenges across the country. Learn more about these innovative partnerships at a workshop hosted by the Water Partnership Council (WPC). Being held at the National League of Cities 82nd Congress of Cities and Exposition in Charlotte, North Carolina, city leaders will come together to discuss the role of public-private partnerships in disaster response, building water infrastructure, and operating and managing water systems.
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Participants bring first-hand knowledge from recent events.
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Gary Suddith, City Administrative Officer for the City of Laurel, Mississippi, will discuss Laurel's work with a private company before, during and after Hurricane Katrina. Suddith and the private company coordinated emergency response preparedness activities, initial clean up activities and the ongoing recovery efforts. According to Suddith, FEMA estimates that the damage in the Laurel area is so great that activities will continue through the summer of 2006.
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Also at the workshop, Phil Capitano, Mayor of Kenner, Louisiana, will outline his experiences in working with the private sector for emergency response and preparedness.
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Other executives will share their successes in public-private partnerships to operate and manage existing water resources. Joe Giambra, Commissioner of Public Works for the City of Buffalo Water Board, will talk about Buffalo's award-winning public-private partnership for the operations and maintenance and management of the city's water system. After six years of partnership between the city, local unions, and the private sector, the city has recognized a savings of $21 million through operational and financial improvements.
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Public-private partnerships are a time-tested way to improve regulatory compliance, according to Kyle Sonnenberg, former Town Manager of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and Martin Black, City Manager of Venice, Florida.
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The Town of Southern Pines entered into an operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with the goal of achieving operating compliance at its water treatment plant. Since initiation in the early 80s, the contract has been renewed three times, the plant has been expanded and upgraded and is now one of the best performing facilities in North Carolina, winning state-wide quality awards. Sonnenberg is now the Assistant City Manager of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
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The City of Venice, Florida entered a unique partnership in August 2004. The customized partnership involves the private sector providing four onsite managers to supervise 66 City employees. A special feature of the partnership is that any savings generated from innovative ideas and improved performance are split between the City, utility employees and the private sector employees.
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This session also marks the debut of the WPC's Partnership Toolkit. Featuring an interactive CD, the toolkit provides city officials considering public-private partnerships with useful tips, case studies and copies of the WPC's popular handbook, A Blueprint for Success: Establishing Public-Private Partnerships for Water and Wastewater Systems.
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The panel's experiences are reinforced by a recent report detailing the benefits of public-private partnerships to municipalities. A 2005 study of public-private partnerships for water and wastewater by the WPC showed that they:
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· Increase regulatory compliance. 74 percent of respondents rated regulatory compliance as better under the partnership than prior to the partnership.
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· Keep citizens happy. 93 percent of respondents note that customer complaints decreased or remained the same under the partnership.
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· Save money. 92 percent of the municipalities that projected cost savings before entering the partnership achieved the projected savings. The other 8 percent are too early in the contract term to evaluate.
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· Benefit the community. 93 percent of respondents note that their private partners proactively participate in community activities above and beyond what is required in their contract.
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The Water Partnership Council is a non-profit organization established by the leading providers of operational services for water and wastewater systems in the United States. The Council seeks to partner with citizens, local governments, and organizations committed to strengthening this country's water and wastewater infrastructure. Council members are American Water, OMI, Inc., Severn Trent Services, Southwest Water Company Services Group, United Water and Veolia Water North America.
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For more information about the Water Partnership Council call (202) 466-5445 or visit www.waterpartnership.org.
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