'Tis the Season for Sharing - Services, That Is

Earlier this year, my partners Anne Spray Kinney and Steve Struthers worked with local Wisconsin government leaders on a topic that seems to go with this time of year- sharing services for the common good. 'Tis the season, after all.

In this case, they were working with the Chippewa Valley area of Wisconsin. Prior to our involvement, twenty-two representatives from eleven area governments - including schools, towns, counties, and other local authorities - had met to discuss how sharing services could help them deal with the tight fiscal times they were facing.

They weren't newcomers to the topic. They had their success stories - from information sharing to the 1941 creation of a consolidated Eau Claire City-County Health Department, the first in the State of Wisconsin.

Building on this foundation, they wanted to take it further. They asked PSG to help them think about and identify new opportunities for intergovernmental collaboration. I think the work product that resulted is instructive for us all.

In our work with them, we found numerous examples of local government cooperative arrangements already in place. In examining them, PSG realized that the examples sorted into a continuum of cooperative efforts. As you move along the continuum, you move from simple to complex. Other factors come into view as well, including the level of trust needed, the need to measure results, and potential for financial savings.

Continuum of Cooperative Efforts

To illustrate each aspect of this continuum:

Exchange
The simplest form of cooperation involves informal exchange of information or knowledge. Several simple examples were cited, including calling up a neighboring jurisdiction to talking to learn how they were handling a work issue. Identifying and sharing best practices is another form of "exchange".

Coordinate
Governments coordinate their efforts when they work together in the areas of planning, problem solving and service delivery. For instance, governments can coordinate the timing of street projects to avoid interfering with school schedules.

Share
Sharing of facilities, equipment, or staff increases the complexity of cooperation and must include both informal and formal arrangements. There were numerous examples cited. Governments share equipment that is not used regularly, such as backhoes and bucket trucks. This avoids both high rental costs and the costs of purchasing equipment that is only needed occasionally. Although the City of Eau Claire and Eau Claire County have separate purchasing functions, they currently share a purchasing manager. They also share a document imaging system and a fiber-optic network.

Pool (purchasing power, risk)
Pooling can give governments the ability to cut costs and provide access to benefits they otherwise would not be able to afford on their own. Through pooling their purchasing power, governments have been able to save substantial dollar amounts through quantity purchasing. They also save time in developing specifications and bid documents. Risk management pools, including liability and workers compensation insurance, are another common form of intergovernmental pooling. Local governments, including those in Wisconsin, also participate in investment and debt instrument pools that both increase revenues and cut costs.

Consolidate
Consolidation of programs or organizations typically requires more complex and formal cooperative arrangements. For example, in Eau Claire and in Kenosha, city and county law enforcement records, evidence and vehicle maintenance have been consolidated. Even entire organizational units can be consolidated, such as the Eau Claire City/County Health Department or the Neenah-Menasha Fire Department. Finally, across the country, entire governmental units have been consolidated. In the Midwest, for example, Indianapolis and Marion County, Indiana and Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky have merged.

I like this continuum, and its examples, for its potential use in identifying and assessing collaboration opportunities. Using this continuum, our clients considered a list of candidates for collaboration - and chose these three as their priorities:

• Training on state and federal risk management regulations
• County-wide property assessment and property tax collection services
• Collective purchasing

For each, they have clarified the opportunity, the likely barriers, and charted the first steps to take to advance these ideas knowing the degree of formality, trust, and clarity that needed to be faced and addressed at the front end.

I offer this continuum to you in the spirit of sharing. After all, 'tis the season!