East metro cities share services to save money

If you closely watch local government (and who doesn't, if you read The Cities?), here's an interesting survey.

The Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce surveyed 12 east metro cities this year to find out who's working together to improve efficiency, and what services they're sharing. The topic is particularly timely in light of the ongoing local government aid (LGA) debate at the Capitol. The chamber asked about everything from parks to libraries to human resources.

Every community surveyed shares IT services and library services, either with other cities or with Ramsey County. Most of the cities share emergency services and park services. If all that sounds a little vague, here are a couple of examples. Falcon Heights and Little Canada share a building inspector and a street sweeper. Lauderdale partners with Roseville to offer recreation programs.

The chamber said in a press release that the survey demonstrates how communities are working together during tough financial times.

"By identifying the best practices already in use, we hope that municipalities will further examine the operations of their colleagues and emulate them to achieve further savings," said Matt Kramer, president of the Chamber.

Kramer is also the former commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).

You can find the entire survey on the chamber's website.

Have you heard of any interesting partnerships among cities? Pass them along here.

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