NCPPP - Quotes From Public Sector Officials

"We need a set of alternative tools in the toolbox for state and local governments, other than the rigid requirements of the competitive sealed bid process. That process requires the agency to define its needs up front, which isn't always easy to do, and then submit as a solicitation for bids.

With the two PPP bills, it allows an alternative of allowing unsolicited proposals. What this does is allow the creativity and ingenuity of the private sector to come forward."

"A partnership by definition involves two or more parties committed to a common task, sharing risk and yielding a reward to all the partners. The service goals need to be achieved more efficiently together than alone. And successful public-private partnerships enable both parties to do what they do best to achieve a common goal. In the end, it is as much about open honest communication as it is about money."

"Municipalities need to understand that outsourcing and privatization are attractive choices for many city officials seeking economic growth and community development in the competitive world we live in. It can be a smart source of revenues to fund these improvements."

"And so we very, very aggressively sat down with leadership and the members and we took them through the process and assured them there would be no causalities in this process, and what I mean by a casualty is someone losing their job and losing pension benefits.

Now we were able to accomplish our goal, which was to make sure that each and every member of that water utilities employment staff either ended up working for Elizabethtown, if they met their qualifications, or continued working for a period of time with us until they earned their permanent retirement benefits, or stayed with us if they were prepared to move into a different division or department."

"I have to be very positive about the future of PPPs. I don't think there's a panacea, I don't think there's a pot of gold, but I think there is a tremendous amount to be gained by government going through this process."

"As we look at this in terms of motivating local government to Public-Private Partnerships, the outlined requisite conditions exist. First, this is a crisis. Second, there may be money to deal with specific aspects generated from the crisis. Or, there may also be money from any pump-priming effort. (A case can be also made for local government to continue or to expand spending on projects as a counter-cyclical spending measure. A number of economists have made this case and, in this regard, it is helpful to remember that local and state spending is a significant part of the Gross National Product.) And, third, in many cases, local government doesn't have the knowledge or expertise to face the current problems. Thus, the criteria for local governments to create PPP's is, at least, set in motion."

"The cornerstone of this [public-private partnership success stories] has been the Public-Private Transportation Partnership Act that I was proud to spearhead and get passed through a Democratic House and Senate in 1995. I want to give credit to the vital, brilliant leadership of my Secretary of Transportation, Rob Martinez, as well as my Deputy Secretary, Shirley Ybarra, and David Gehr, then VDOT Commissioner.

This groundbreaking initiative expanded the transportation pie without raising taxes. It has allowed us to speed up completion of vital road projects and, in many cases, has freed up money to address other transportation needs."

"The pieces in our puzzle box have the following words on them; planning objectives, educational program goals, expertise, capability, capital funding, construction bonds, school improvement, tax incentives, housing, affordable housing, public programs and services, school choice, charter schools, private financing, flexibility, inflexibility, profit motive, bottom line, debt service, tax liability, public goals and objectives, early childhood development, responsibility, priorities, political considerations, repeat business, classroom space, community space, community learning, career education, etc.

I believe that if all these pieces were to be laid on the table, that with creativity, new paradigms and thinking out of the box, those skilled in development will see where objectives, private and public, intersect, coincide and overlap, and will begin to see opportunities for partnership and collaboration that will address unmet needs and stated goals and objectives. This is, to my way of thinking, what makes public-private development partnerships exciting, because the possibilities are as great as the ability of those to see new ways in which the puzzle pieces can be combined with new pieces for new solutions."