Shared Municipal Services
- Details
This past summer thanks to our wonderful intern, Emily Wilson, the WRC began to explore potential shared municipal services and inter-municipal cooperation opportunities among our towns, and what role the WRC might play.
To gauge interest in broadening WRC services, a survey was created and distributed to municipal officials. The survey was basic and only included a few broad questions which could provide a starting point for a more detailed conversation with a focus group.To date, we have received responses from 16 towns. For a summary of responses on shared municipal services please click here.
In August we convened a small focus group of municipal officials to get the conversation started. The group first discussed the opportunity for shared purchasing of highway products and services, including sharing the costs of expensive equipment, loaning equipment among towns, or possibly refurbishing group equipment. The conversation then shifted to opportunities for shared human services which may be more broadly appreciated by towns that have no professional staff available to fill administrative roles. Possible service sharing included animal control, zoning administration, assessor, website administrator, and cooperative purchasing organizer. Towns also indicated interest in a grant writing system that allowed for easier access to information about available grants.
The survey and focus group was just a starting point, and further discussions will be organized. There was also strong support for regular discussions among town managers, administrators and other town officials to share experiences, challenges and solutions. The high interest level of member towns makes this a priority for the WRC. For more information or comments please contact Susan McMahon (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or 257-4547 x 114).
