Regional Cooperation

The City of Owosso and its neighbors have taken some important steps to improve regional co-operation, and the timing could not have been better. Two weeks ago the City Council approved an agreement with Owosso Township that puts in place a process for sharing the benefits and costs of a municipal water system. The next night, Governor Rick Snyder, in his state of the state speech, proposed that local governments consolidate services with their neighbors to reduce the cost of government. He also proposed to use State revenue sharing as an incentive to spur such coordination.

The Governor's proposal has yet to be defined, and yet to be approved by the Legislature, but the idea of regional cooperation among cities, townships, villages, counties, school systems and other units of local government has been gaining more attention and credibility in recent years. Of course, Governor Granholm proposed something similar during her time in office, and the idea never went anywhere. Additionally, there is much concern over the decline in the funds the State allocates to local governments. Revenue sharing was implemented some time ago as part of an agreement whereby the State restricted the ability of locals to levy sales and other taxes. In many states, a portion of sales tax revenues go directly to the jurisdiction in which the sale took place; revenue sharing in Michigan was supposed to be a more equitable alternative. The system worked well until the State started cutting back the payments to local governments. Now, many local officials resist any attempt by the State to further reduce or restrict these funds.

In Shiawassee County, there have been both failures and successes in regional cooperation. The recent water agreement came after decades of controversy and debate. There will now be a water system that encompasses all of Owosso and Corunna and the more developed portions of Owosso and Caledonia Townships. This will accompany the well-functioning Mid-County inter-governmental system that coordinates wastewater collection and treatment. And there have been specific cooperative actions to support new development as well as mutual aid agreements for public safety services througout the region.

Can, and should, there be more regional cooperation, or even consolidation, of governmental services among neighboring jurisdictions in Shiawassee County? The arguments in favor of the idea include the opportunity for cost savings in infrastructure, equipment, and staff. As well, regional cooperation might bring better planning and coordination of governmental activities that improve the quality of life and promote economic development. A decade ago, Team 21, championed by George Hoddy, made these arguments. On the other hand, there are concerns about giving up control and accountability of governmental services. Would a City Council be able to direct its staff and services in ways that would best serve the residents of the community?

What seems to be spurring the discussion of regional cooperation now is the opportunity to reduce the cost of government. There seems to be little interest in raising taxes at the state or local level, and with the economy sputtering, state and local revenues have declined. Even with signs of a slight economic recovery showing, revenues will lag for some time (see this earlier blog post). It's clear that costs need to be cut, and the opportunity for sharing services potentially offers a way to maintain services while cutting costs. However, local governments may need some statutory push or financial pulll to inspire local officials to reach across municipal boundaries. At the local level, careful attention needs to be paid to ensure that any cooperative agreement benefits all parties, is open to public scrutiny, and truly allows for more to be done with less. Nonetheless, regional cooperation will be a goal for 2011.

Owosso and its neighboring jurisdictions of Corunna and Caledonia and Owosso Townships have in place several working regional partnerships; the recent water agreement strengthens these relationships. Hopefully these will be recognized in any state budget or legislative change that seeks to reformulate revenue sharing. In any case, the recent work of local officials to increase trust and communication will put the mid-county region in a better place to pursue effective regional cooperation in the near future.

I was honored to be State Representative Ben Glardon's guest at Gov. Rick Snyder's State of the State address. Said Glardon "This is a truly historic time in Michigan, and the governor's business-style approach is exactly what our state needs to get back on solid footing. The governor talked about specific goals with expected results. With huge state budget deficits that seem to continue year after year, we must find new ways to properly budget taxpayer dollars, and Snyder's emphasis on value for our dollars is spot on."