Group claims public will have no recourse if private corporations perform badly
Gov. Chris Christie delivers his first State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature in this January file photo.TRENTON — State and local governments could save a quick buck by privatizing functions now, but New Jerseyans will suffer in the long run, said a newly formed coalition of groups against privatization at a Statehouse news conference today.
The 18-member Coalition on Privatization said outsourcing functions currently performed by governments will endanger the environment and public health, while resulting in higher fees and a decline in services. And, some said, it could open the door to more public corruption.
“Public assets and resources should be managed for the public good rather than private gain,” said New Jersey Food & Water Watch Director Jim Walsh.
The coalition is made up of labor unions, liberal activists, environmental and ethnic advocacy groups, including the New Jersey Sierra Club, the toll collectors’ union, the New Black Panther Party and the Latino Action Network.
The press conference comes as Republican Gov. Chris Christie’s administration is pushing to privatize certain state government services, including toll collections, which would cut how much experienced toll collectors are paid by more than half. Democrats have proposed a constitutional amendment that would severely restrict how state and local governments privatize functions, requiring that it would not result in higher fees, and that the companies would pay their workers the same as private workers, among other things.
A committee chaired by former Republican U.S. Rep. Richard Zimmer said the state government could save $210 million by privatizing services such as health care for prison inmates, toll collections, state parks, highway rest stops and career centers for the unemployed.
Sierra Club New Jersey Director Jeff Tittel pointed to a case in Indiana where he said a company “played games” with its water testing to dump pollution into Lake Michigan. Private companies, he said, will put profit ahead of public and environmental safety.
Franceline Ehret, president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Local No. 194, which represents toll collectors, said her union agreed to $16 million in cost savings, including wage cuts, but has been ignored by the Turnpike Authority.
New Jersey Tenants Association Director Matt Shapiro said the public has recourse when government performs badly, but may not with private corporations. And the opportunities for corruption, he said, will grow.
“Don’t you think it might be a little tempting to some of these companies to slip a little something under the table to a friendly government official who might possibly help them get a contract?” he said.
Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said the coalition did not seem interested "in an honest discussion about bringing new efficiencies to government and savings to taxpayers."
"What you heard was a lot of extreme rhetoric mention to poison the well of public opinion," he said, adding Christie will look for savings to fund necessary programs instead of "the popular, special-interest approved spending we can no longer afford."