Editor, OBSERVER:
I went to Mayville in July to hear the proposals for privatizing the County Home.
There were the usual comments from the employees and union, but the interesting part was that some of our legislators were trying to find an issue where they could continue to subsidize the home at $3.5 million of taxpayers money each year.
I would never accuse the newspapers of running an article to try to educate our legislators on something obvious to everyone who will look, But an article by Cal Thomas last month was certainly timely.
The legislators asked for more information in the packets of the two proposals. If I were a county supervisor, a copy of this article would be part of the data given to every legislator.
The gist of the article is that private industry can do a less expensive, more efficient job than government in any enterprise where they both are involved.
One of our legislators wanted to know "if the private enterprises that were offering to buy the county home could operate at a profit, why couldn't the county do the same?" The answer was the county has union contracts, and rules and state laws that are designed to prevent the county from running at a profit. It is also interesting the item addressed why government don't recognize this.
It is power to the politicians for non-efficient, ineffective enterprises that government seeks. This was apparent in the questioning of many legislators in July who were reluctant to give up their control.
One legislator spoke of going to the County Home and being told by one or more of the residents that "this was their home." I wondered if the legislator had gone to the private homes in the area would he have received a different answer. No one present at this July meeting left without sufficient information to know that the correct decision is to sell the home and to the cash offer.
Several did try to hide it.
JIM WALKER,
Falconer
