What Happened
Every few weeks, Gov1 provides a wrap-up of consolidation incidents around the country. This week’s brings us updates on consolidated fire districts in the Catskills, property assessments in Minnesota, water services in Ohio, and more.
Fire Districts in the Catskills
Residents in the Town of Catskill, New York, voted against establishing a joint fire district with the Village of Catskill. Residents in the Village favored the plan, but reports noted that the Town had concerns about how money was being spent by village officials. The consolidation process began over a decade ago, but the new fire district would have led to a small increase in the Town’s cost for fire protection. The Catskill Fire Company was in support of this “final aspect” of consolidation. Additional coverage of police and fire issues can be found in the left-hand column of Gov1.
Consolidation Efforts in Ohio
The city of Tallmadge, Ohio, is being heralded as a pioneer in municipal collaboration three years after it outsourced its police and fire dispatch services to nearby Stow. According to the city’s Finance Director, Tallmadge is saving $566,000 per year by outsourcing dispatch, without seeing a decline in service. The decision was praised by Ohio Controlling Board President Randy Cole, who recently wrote a guest column for Gov1 on municipal collaboration.
Two hundred miles southwest, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, is getting ready to consolidate two divisions: The Water and Sewer Division, and the Water Reclamation Center. According to reports, the new “Water and Sewer Utility Division” will have 35 employees, and will save tens of thousands of dollars per year for residents. As Gov1 has covered in recent months, the consolidation of water-related entities within municipalities is increasingly common, with recent consolidations in Louisville, KY, Huntington Beach, CA, and other communities. Nearby Shaker Heights, OH, recently outsourced its sewer maintenance to Cuyahoga County.
Assessments in Minnesota
The city of Duluth is considering teaming up with St. Louis County to consolidate their property assessment operations. The result would be a unified county-administered function. The move is the result of a Blue Ribbon Assessment Panel that aimed to develop a five-year strategy plan that would look at—among other matters—any opportunities to “share services and create partnerships with other government jurisdictions.” According to reports, a single system would eliminate duplication, create efficiencies, and establish a “more equitable method of conducting property assessments” with a single set of standards.
Payroll Systems in Pennsylvania
The town of Newton, Penn., has decided to use the payroll system utilized by the Board of Education. According to reports, in doing so the town will not only save money, but will recoup resources. This move is increasingly common, with municipal departments consolidating software licenses on single platforms to eliminate duplication and ease both troubleshooting and training. As Gov1 recently covered, the town of Middleboro, Mass., recently took the extra step of consolidating the town’s entire IT department under the school’s technology administrator. Other cities, like Mountain View, Calif., have consolidated administrative as well as IT services.
Consolidating Offices In Massachusetts
The mayor of Peabody, Mass., is following through on a long-discussed plan to consolidate operations between the city and schools. Among the plans being discussed is eliminating duplicative services, particularly related to the Peabody Municipal Light Plan, which is “largely autonomous” municipal entity. According to reports, there is “significant evidence” of duplication and inefficiency within PBLP. Also on the table: moving the school nurses from the Health Department back to the School Department, and adding a centralized facilities manager to oversee all maintenance and renovations.
As usual, Gov1 will continue to track consolidation developments, which can be found in the left-hand column of our Web site. We are always eager to hear from you if you have insights or experiences with municipal consolidation.