While many cities and towns throughout the U.S. have struggled financially since the Great Recession, some even going so far as to file for bankruptcy, the Georgia town of Sandy Springs is thriving due in large part to its implementation of an innovative “model” entailing a broad-scale privatization of city services.

As originally profiled here last year, and in a recent New York Times article, the success of Sandy Springs’ model of city governance centers on public-private partnerships, many of which sprang up when the town was newly incorporated. As the NYT points out, nearly every city service has been outsourced, except for the local police and fire departments, and the underfunded pension and benefit woes plaguing most cities have been avoided by the adoption of employee contribution programs, such as 401(k)s. The town’s relative health is evident not only in terms of its balance sheet, but also in the plaudits received from citizens.

Given Sandy Springs’ overwhelmingly positive experience with privatization, perhaps it’s time our own state and local officials take a closer look at these opportunities, like those outlined here