Sandy Springs was once the model for municipalities across the nation, setting the template for launching a new city by hiring Colorado-based private firm CH2M Hill to staff and run City Hall.
Five years later, the city of 94,000 is poised to follow the example of North Fulton neighbors Johns Creek and Milton and embrace a new model for government.
Instead of contracting with a single company, these North Fulton cities and others are moving toward a hybrid model in which some departments are outsourced to one or more firms and others are staffed by city employees.
"We're all still amazed how this came to be and how well its worked out," Sandy Springs Mayor Eva Galambos said. "But we're still looking for the best deal."
Sandy Springs' city council voted last week to award contracts for financial and information services to a pair of private companies, the first tweak to the city's privatization model since launching in 2006. InterDev, an Atlanta-based computer consulting firm, will handle information services, while Severn Trent of Fort Washington, Pa., will be the city's vendor for financial services.
City officials said they chose different companies because they wanted to decrease the risk of a conflict-of-interest in the finance department, and cut costs by hiring an IT firm themselves since CH2M Hill was subcontracting that service.
Sandy Springs still has five departments going through the bidding process: communications; public works; parks and recreation; municipal court services; and community development. The city will publicly release staff recommendations May 17.
A spokeswoman with CH2M Hill, which has a $24.1 million contract with Sandy Springs this year, said the firm hopes to maintain a relationship.
"We’ve been a part of city before it was even officially a city," said Susan Mays of CH2M Hill. "We're engaged in this competitive process and we’re really proud of work done there in the past five and a half years."
CH2M Hill is familiar with this process: Milton and Chattahoochee Hills terminated deals with the company in 2010, while Johns Creek cut its contract from $17 million in 2010 to $5 million in 2011. The cities cited cost-cutting as the main reason.
"I think the initial idea of outsourcing everything had some merit at the time," Johns Creek City Manager John Kachmar said. "The performance was good but the pricing wasn't sustainable."
Sandy Springs officials have not publicly griped about the costs but they have pledged to strike the best deal for residents.
Often considered a model for incorporation, Sandy Springs made history in 2005 with what experts said was the most extensive experiment to date in municipal outsourcing.
The concept was pushed by longtime resident Oliver Porter, chairman of the Governor's Commission on Sandy Springs. Porter said outsourcing city services was the only way Sandy Springs could get up and running quickly.
"In just a matter of a few months, we moved from nothing to a fully operational city," said Porter, now a consultant for other cities interested in outsourcing . "I don’t think anyone has argued that CH wasn’t providing really good services for the city."
A recent study by the Georgia Tech Center for Advanced Communications Policy found the best model is one that has a mix of in-house services and others outsourced to private firms.
"It’s not a great surprise to me that Sandy Springs is maybe moving away from the far end of spectrum and coming closer to the middle," said James White, communications studies director at the center. "... If you were looking for a model to follow, the model would be a hybrid model."
Sandy Springs resident Tochie Blad said she appreciates city officials keeping options open, especially if it means a better bottom line.
"I've been satisfied with the services that have been provided," said Blad, who's lived in the area for 15 years. "But I definitely think a competitive bid process is a good thing if it can keep costs down and lower taxes for residents."
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