Good Government

We care more (for taxpayers) in Claremore

July 6, 2009

Brandon Dutcher

"For more than a year and a half, Claremore has been able to cut costs through outsourcing," Rhett Morgan reports today. "The municipality has outsourced two departments-fleet maintenance and planning and zoning/engineering-since November 2007 and is in the process of converting a third."

"Oftentimes, in government, you don't have the overall performance driver like you do in the private sector, which is profit," says deputy city manager Matt Mueller. "So we have to look at different ways to make sure we're doing things as efficiently as possible."

"It's a delicate process to go through because oftentimes there are a lot of politics involved," Mueller says of outsourcing. "You want to be sensitive to people. But ultimately, we are here to provide the highest level of service to the citizens at the lowest cost."