Take a look at your property tax bill and note how much money goes to local government. And still schools and cities and counties struggle to provide services with the money that comes in--especially in counties that traditionally depended on federal timber receipts, now mostly gone.
So counties and cities look to the private sector to take on what were public services, from libraries to mental health.
Matt Rowe is a former , with a perspective on what leads smaller cities to consider outsourcing.
from the Rural Studies Program at Oregon State University studies policy options that face smaller governments. They join us for a discussion of needs and options.
