Chuck Raasch looks at how combining services can help local governments "to capitalize on the economics of scale and offset declining revenue since the Great Recession."
Seeing the sixth consecutive year of declining revenue, local governments are preparing themselves for a "going it alone" future of reduced budgets, bereft of federal and state aid, as described by policy analysts Bruce J. Perlman and J. Edwin Benton. With residents beginning to notice stretched city budgets, communities that have relied on "quick-fix" strategies such as cutting positions and putting off capital expenditures are looking to partner with their neighbors to help maintain and expand services.
"Across the country," writes Raasch, "counties and other local governments are combining services from 911 call centers to basic purchasing." This solution is expected nowadays, says Jay Ash, the City Manager of Chelsea, MA, who has joined forces with the City of Boston to buy greener LED lights for the city's 1,400 streetlights. These types of partnerships will only grow in the future, contends Michael Abels, a former city manager in DeLand, Florida. "He predicts that service sharing between local governments will expand to health care and roads as cities confront backlogs in infrastructure needs."
"There are a lot of pressures (to combine services), but there has not been a notable shift to it as of yet," says Perlman, "That said, I am willing to go out on a limb and say that is the next step. What has happened to local governments is the fat has sort of been wrung out, and so there is nothing else left to do. So collaboration is the next step."
FULL STORY: Recession-battered cities combine services

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Massachusetts Budget Helps Close MBTA Budget Gap
The budget signed by Gov. Maura Healey includes $470 million in MBTA funding for the next fiscal year.

Milwaukee Launches Vision Zero Plan
Seven years after the city signed its Complete Streets Policy, the city is doubling down on its efforts to eliminate traffic deaths.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance
The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont