COUNTYWIDE : Task Force Starts Privatization Push

Meeting for the first time Wednesday, members of a new Orange County task force set out guidelines for deciding which county government operations might be better run by private businesses.

“We’re looking for areas that potentially have a high payoff,” said Ron Del Principe, area vice president for Pacific Bell and a task force member.

He added that the task force hopes to identify operations that are removed from the “core” of county government and focus instead on what it considers “ancillary functions.” What defines the difference has yet to be agreed on, but Del Principe said the task force will rely heavily on recommendations submitted by county department heads.

Those recommendations include 144 county functions--ranging from tree trimming to the county harbor patrol. Some of the ideas were dismissed as unlikely candidates for the private sector, but about 100 of them were considered worth studying further.

No decisions were made at Wednesday’s session in Santa Ana, but Del Principe said the task force hopes to narrow the list to about 10 top recommendations. That process could take place at the next meeting, set for Wednesday, he said.