Comments on: New on the Acumen Fund Web Site: Ecotact Investment and Story http://blog.acumenfund.org/2008/07/09/new-on-the-acumen-fund-web-site-ecotact-investment-and-story/ Wed, 07 Jan 2009 12:29:33 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: Rob Katz http://blog.acumenfund.org/2008/07/09/new-on-the-acumen-fund-web-site-ecotact-investment-and-story/#comment-148169 Rob Katz Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:53:48 +0000 http://blog.acumenfund.org/2008/07/09/new-on-the-acumen-fund-web-site-ecotact-investment-and-story/#comment-148169 You are right that the municipalities will ultimately own the facilities (and they already own the land) and they will therefore bear responsibility of ongoing maintenance and operation of the facilities. While there are no guarantees (and it certainly depends on the success of these pilots), we think it is likely that the municipalities will continue to allow private companies to operate the facilities even after Ecotact’s contracts expire. Our hope is that the municipalities decide not to try to run the facilities themselves, but instead agree to lease the facilities (at a cost) to private companies like Ecotact, who will operate them in exchange for the ability to charge user fees. The municipalities would likely undergo a competitive bidding process to select the private partner, but ideally this would result in the best allocation of resources and the highest quality of service. It would be a shame for the public-private partnership to end when Ecotact’s contract is up You are right that the municipalities will ultimately own the facilities (and they already own the land) and they will therefore bear responsibility of ongoing maintenance and operation of the facilities. While there are no guarantees (and it certainly depends on the success of these pilots), we think it is likely that the municipalities will continue to allow private companies to operate the facilities even after Ecotact’s contracts expire. Our hope is that the municipalities decide not to try to run the facilities themselves, but instead agree to lease the facilities (at a cost) to private companies like Ecotact, who will operate them in exchange for the ability to charge user fees. The municipalities would likely undergo a competitive bidding process to select the private partner, but ideally this would result in the best allocation of resources and the highest quality of service. It would be a shame for the public-private partnership to end when Ecotact’s contract is up

]]> By: Premal http://blog.acumenfund.org/2008/07/09/new-on-the-acumen-fund-web-site-ecotact-investment-and-story/#comment-147551 Premal Thu, 10 Jul 2008 15:24:11 +0000 http://blog.acumenfund.org/2008/07/09/new-on-the-acumen-fund-web-site-ecotact-investment-and-story/#comment-147551 Rob, Thanks for sharing this article and the one on when to keep your camera away... I had a few questions about this model. It mentions that the company Builds-operates-transfers the facilities to municipalities. So what happens once the transfer happens? Typically the municipalities will not be able to maintain the facility as well as a private operators do isn't it? So why transfer, can't they just operate this facility and pass on some revenues to the municipalities? I thought I'd share this info with others reading this article. In Hyderabad, India I have seen quite a few of such facilities run by the municipality with signs suggesting how far the next pay-and-use toilets are available. I am not aware of how well they maintain these... Rob,
Thanks for sharing this article and the one on when to keep your camera away…

I had a few questions about this model. It mentions that the company Builds-operates-transfers the facilities to municipalities. So what happens once the transfer happens? Typically the municipalities will not be able to maintain the facility as well as a private operators do isn’t it? So why transfer, can’t they just operate this facility and pass on some revenues to the municipalities?

I thought I’d share this info with others reading this article. In Hyderabad, India I have seen quite a few of such facilities run by the municipality with signs suggesting how far the next pay-and-use toilets are available. I am not aware of how well they maintain these…

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