Government Utilities: the government owner may be more interested in keeping the price of the service as low as possible, perhaps even providing the service at less than cost. That policy requires some subsidization of the utility by the sponsoring government. This practice can be politically appealing—the low-cost service can be an important element in reelection strategy and may be supported by a desire to encourage economic development—but the government decision makers must be certain that other important city services are not shortchanged by subsidizing the utility. Otherwise, the practice can contribute to the city’s fiscal decay. However, experience suggests that, compared to private owners, government operation may be less greedy in pricing, but probably not more efficient in producing the service