Here’s a sample of the more than 260 comments posted online as the city of Sandy Springs’ surveyed public opinion on the CH2M Hill contact with the city.
“I could not be more pleased with the outsourced model. Even though CH2M Hill is a Colorado company, they are hiring local people to staff their business model. The service is exceptional, especially when compared to other local government agencies or entities. Don’t mess with success. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
“Get rid of the private partnership! Quit sending the jobs to a company in Colorado! We need to support our local people and keep the money in the area.”
“The city is doing a good job overall. I base this on the fact that I have not observed any problems. When a city is running smoothly, we as residents should be able to just go about our lives.”
“I feel that our city leaders have the experience now to run the city. We are spending a lot of money paying for a company to do what the city can do for itself.”
“Dunwoody could not afford [CH2M Hill] and had 6 or more qualified applicants for each of 3 contracts: community development, public works, and finance. A year into it they are running leaner cost wise with improved services than our single source contract.”
“I think this is a wonderful model and have been very pleased with how well it has worked. CH2MHill and their employees are very responsive and professional to deal with.”
“You’ve broken new ground. It’s working. Don’t change direction and go back to government-run services, other than our police, fire and ambulance.”
“In general, I support the model. I am concerned that over time should disagreements arise between the city and its service providers, if not handled with the best interests of the citizens in mind, could result in service failures, added expenses, and an overall negative image to both this type of governmental administrative model and the community.”
“CH2M Hill went out on a limb for this city and delivered beautifully. We need to stay with CH2M Hill.”
“We are extremely pleased with what has happened in Sandy Springs since we became a city. I am inclined to believe that the management and ethics are superior to neighboring counties because of the public/private partnership.”
Source: City of Sandy Springs