I am staff attorney for a county in SC which has a small museum featuring
local history/culture, etc.  Until now, the museum has been wholly funded by
the county through property taxes.  In an effort to hold down costs, our
county governing body has been seriously considering "privatizing" the museum
over a period of years.  They realize that it is unrealistic for them to
expect the private sector to immediately step forward and assume the entire
budget immediately, and they are concerned about museum staffers losing
public retirement benefits if they proceed too quickly with their efforts to
privatize.  What they would like to see, however, is examples (if any exist)
of written agreements between public and private entities who are in some
fashion jointly responsible for the budget and/or operation of a museum.  If
any of you have copies of such an agreement (or know where I can obtain one)
I would appreciate it if you would contact me by e-mail, s-mail, fax or
phone.  Thanks for your consideration.

John C. Zilinsky
Horry County Staff Attorney
103 Elm Street
Conway, SC 29526

Phone:  803-248-1292
Fax:      803-248-1378