Rural/Metro was founded on the belief that competition can improve emergency services and provide communities with better quality and higher performance at less cost.

Managed competition can pinpoint for each individual community which emergency service model can deliver the best services for the least cost. Sometimes that model is a public sector service. But frequently, the private sector can offer alternatives with greater value.

The strategy that best serves the public interest is to analyze all of the options and select the one that gives the greatest value (e.g., the highest quality service for the lowest possible cost). That's what managed competition is all about.

Just as competition improves other services we rely upon in daily life, making providers compete for emergency services provides a much different incentive structure for performance.

When a provider has to compete for service, a strong incentive for top performance exists. If a contracted provider fails to satisfy a community in any way, it can be replaced.

That provides a powerful incentive to provide constantly improving quality service in addition to cost savings. Providers who compete for service know they must earn and keep the trust of the community every day. In fact, they derive their economic security from creatively applying resources that create community good will.

We encourage communities to explore their alternatives through competitive bidding to ensure they are getting the very best emergency services possible.