Combining services has become a much-used phrase among local governments, but members of the Eau Claire city-county Joint Commission on Shared Services Initiatives hope to determine whether that aim can become a reality.
The commission has decided to study a proposal that would combine services of the city, county and school district in one government building, an effort to reduce costs, increase efficiencies and break down barriers separating those entities.
The move to a centralized government site would represent a significant shift from the separate jurisdictional approach local governments traditionally have used. Commission members will examine whether bringing local governments under one roof could reduce services duplicity -- and operating costs -- while increasing the sharing of ideas.
The concept is preliminary, and whether it comes to fruition is anyone's guess. But commission members said the idea is worth exploring, given ongoing budget shortfalls and aging, energy inefficient local government buildings.
-- Copyright © 2008, The Leader-Telegram/Distributed by McClatchy-
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"Given the factors we're facing, we think taking a look at whether this can work is a good idea," said City Council member Dave Duax, who proposed the idea.
The proposal would build on the shared services concept used in some areas by local governments. For instance, city and county police work in the same space at the county courthouse and share some resources. Similarly, those two governments share a purchasing agent.
But commission members and other local government leaders wonder whether more can be done. Driven largely by budget constraints, discussions about sharing resources are becoming more frequent, as evidenced by the fact the City Council recently listed study of a shared governmental building as one of its priorities.
"There are still a lot of issues to be determined, but we feel this is something we should take a look at," City Manager Mike Huggins said.
Inefficiencies related to heating, cooling and lighting present city, county and school district administration buildings have prompted discussion of a more efficient central site, Huggins said. One building housing those governments could reduce the current square footage required for their operations.
"There are truly some significant savings just looking at space alone," Huggins said.
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Local governments wouldn't -- and couldn't -- unify all services. But they could share items such as conference rooms or copy machines that could lead to savings.
Establishing a central local government location wouldn't be without challenges.
The cost of constructing a building -- likely downtown -- could pose budgetary challenges despite possible longterm savings from operating one site instead of three.
Determining the futures of existing city, county and school district administrative sites also would be problematic, as would figuring out how and in which areas the three governments could effectively work together.
The project also could be impacted by a $59.1 million jail and courthouse addition the county has proposed. That plan was shot down last week when the County Board withdrew its proposed rezoning request of the city when it became apparent the City Council wasn't going to approve it. County Board Chairman Gregg Moore is in the process of naming a 15-member committee to revise the jail plan.
"There are definitely a lot of issues to work through," Duax said of the central government building proposal. "We're really just at the starting point with this. But we realize with the budget problems we're looking at, we can't just keep going on like we are."
Emerson can be reached at 830-5911, (800) 236-7077 or julian.emerson@ecpc.com .
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