Trouble Tee'd Up
Tribune outdoors writer Tom Wharton thinks that providing recreation has become a core function of government and advises Utahns be wary of a pair of bills moving through the Legislature (HB75, HB76) that could open parks and golf courses to privatization.
A big problem with the privatization bills is they don't specify what happens if the board, which would be dominated by private business interests, determines a golf course or recreation center should be privatized. Would a city or county have to sell a multimillion-dollar facility built with taxpayer dollars to a private group? Could it lease it? Or would it be closed? If a swimming pool or golf course is privatized and fees increased dramatically, would that be fair to the taxpayers who paid to have the facilities built?Finally, Wharton asks, will the bills just address recreation or include other government activities such as state liquor stores or garbage pickup.
I have to note that several of our lawmakers have been "privatized" by major industries, including nuclear power and charter school construction, and that experiment has yet to run its course.
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