NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Republican Gov. Bill Haslam insisted Thursday that he has no “bias” toward privatizing state government activities.
Haslam told reporters that any decision is still months away on whether to proceed with outsourcing building management at the state’s colleges and universities, prisons, armories or parks. Haslam said his aim is simply to find ways to save money, and that criticism of his administration exploring outsourcing is misplaced.
“Everybody thinks, well, Haslam has some bias toward privatizing. I really don’t,” he said. “My only bias is how are we going to run this the very best we can for the very lowest amount of money.”
In some recent instances, the state has moved to take over some areas that had previously been outsourced, Haslam said. For example, the Transportation Department recently moved some engineering functions back in house, and the Tourism Department has stopped outsourcing some marketing activities.
A team of seven staffers and contractors are working on outsourcing scenarios in an office of Haslam’s administration called Strategies for Efficiency in Real Estate Management. They carry titles like director of facilities management outsourcing and director for alternative workplace solutions.