Considering his outsourcing proposal for Tennessee state parks, Gov. Bill Haslam may be feeling that a good deed never goes unpunished.
The governor confirmed Thursday in Chattanooga that his 2015 proposal was dead - that he would leave any future decision on contractual management of the parks to the next governor.
Two years ago, Haslam invited private vendors to tour several revenue-producing state parks to determine if it might be more financially feasible for one of them to run the parks instead of the state. The parks would remain state-owned but would be leased long-term for their operations.
The proposal was a part of the governor's second-term initiative to outsource a number of state-run facilities, including the likes of office space, hospitals, prisons, and higher education spaces such as classrooms, dormitories and administrative buildings, to save the state money.
It was an idea worth looking into, but critics blindly glossed over possible savings and saw only the potential for sweetheart deals, loss of jobs and loss of control.
The effort has moved slowly with most state facilities in question but remains alive. However, the parks portion of the proposal stalled after a legislative bill filed by critics was sent for summer study. That measure would put new restrictions on any further outsourcing by Haslam, including - for service contracts of $250,000 or more - forcing the administration to assure no current employees could do the job and conducting a cost analysis to see whether a contractor could really do the job cheaper.
In other words, it would retain the type of bureaucratic hoops and costs the governor was trying to avoid with the outsourcing proposal in the first place.
But with outsourcing in parks now dead for the remaining 16-plus months of Haslam's term, administration officials say they now have a green light to proceed with an estimated $138 million already approved for capital needs at the parks.
That may include renovation or replacement of the inn at Fall Creek Falls State Park that straddles Van Buren and Bledsoe counties, nearly 70 miles north and slightly west of Chattanooga. Whether to do one or the other has been one of the biggest bones of contention in the discussion of privatization.
So while outsourcing won't be a part of the plan under this governor, Haslam is - as he couldn't help pointing out - the first "in a long time to actually invest in state parks." And regardless of what happens to the inn, proceeding with capital needs maintenance is a plus for all park visitors.