Sandy Springs, Georgia incorporated in December 2005 and pioneered a heavily privatized “contract city” or public-private partnership model for municipal services. It later shifted most of those services in-house.
The private model (2005 onward)
When it became Georgia’s first new city in decades (after residents voted overwhelmingly to incorporate and leave Fulton County), Sandy Springs launched with a very small public staff (initially just a few employees, such as the city manager and clerk). Nearly all non-public-safety services—including public works, community development, finance, IT, communications, recreation and parks, municipal court operations, and economic development—were contracted out to private firms. Police and fire remained public (partly for legal and insurance reasons).
The initial main contractor was CH2M Hill; later the work was split among multiple firms for additional savings. This approach was widely cited as an efficient, low-overhead model that avoided large traditional bureaucracies, long-term debt, and pension obligations while delivering services and building reserves without tax increases.
The shift to a more public/hybrid model (2019)
In 2019, during a rebid process, the city determined that private-sector bids had become more expensive (driven by a tight labor market and higher contractor costs/fringe rates). It brought the majority of those services in-house as city-managed operations, projecting roughly $14 million in savings over five years. Later reports put actual savings higher (around $26 million in one five-year comparison).
The city has described this as moving to a hybrid public-private model rather than fully abandoning contracting. It continues to outsource some functions (such as certain street/maintenance field services, call center, 911/ChatComm in partnership with Johns Creek, municipal court solicitor work, and others) where private provision remains advantageous. Police and fire were already public.
In short, Sandy Springs went from a pioneering, largely privatized service-delivery model to a more conventional public municipal structure with selective ongoing contracting—driven primarily by cost comparisons rather than an ideological rejection of privatization. City officials have framed it as pragmatic adaptation to market conditions.
Why do some jobs require a civic ethos? It’s something to ponder. Because when a private enterprise system is tried whether it be paying people to ‘community’ policing or caring for the elderly, the mismatch can create waste.
