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Having assured fiscal stability for the next 12 months with approval of its $31.6 billion budget, the Giuliani administration can now turn its attention to another treasured priority--privatization of city services.
The city says that selling Off-Track Betting Corp. is off the agenda for now, but that it is steadily pursuing other modest initiatives that will set the stage for bigger moves down the road.
"Altogether, (the initiatives) don't add up to a huge amount, but they are maintaining a commitment to exploring this approach," says Marilyn Dahl, senior director for government at the New York City Partnership Inc.
The major obstacle to privatization is a new law passed over the mayor's veto two weeks ago that gives the City Council a role in awarding city contracts. The administration vows to fight the measure in court, but officials concede it could hamper their plans if it goes into effect.
"Regardless of what happens, we will proceed with our program of introducing competition into the delivery of city services," says Richard Schwartz, a key mayoral aide overseeing the administration's privatization effort.
MOVING DELIBERATELY
The budget will fund several pilot projects, and the administration says it is moving deliberately to decide which city services should be handled by private business.
"Over the next year we will judge, based on our empirical experience with the private sector, what they do well and what they don't do well and how...