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.