Interlocal Cooperation Has Never Been More Important

<p>Rick Morse is a School of Government faculty member.</p> <p>Continuing state budget problems, combined with shrinking tax bases and the reduction in federal aid work together to put local governments in long-term fiscal crisis. The responses of local governments to this fiscal crunch have significant consequences for community growth and well-being. Simply scaling back may do long-term harm to community economic sustainability. One alternative to cutting services is to creatively “do more with less.” And one of the best ways to do more with less is to work together. Interlocal cooperation in its many forms represents a key way local governments can work together (with other local governments) to do more with less.</p> <p>In previous posts I have introduced videos that highlighted local governments collaborating in various ways. The first highlighted public-private partnerships for economic development in Wayne County, North Carolina. The second told the story of a complex public-private and multi-jurisdictional collaboration to develop infrastructure in a rural community. The third (and final) video from this project I undertook with colleagues for the Local Elected Leaders Academy (LELA) highlights the efforts of leaders from Wilkesboro and North Wilkesboro, North Carolina, to build a culture of collaboration across the two communities and in Wilkes County generally.</p> <p>The video highlights the importance of interlocal cooperation specifically as a strategy to do more for less and maximize public resources in a region. Interlocal cooperation can take many forms as demonstrated in the video, from simple resource sharing to more complex agreements that involve pooling resources. The impact of these decisions [...]</p>