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Shared Services Bills Begin to Move

Different bills would form statewide groups to discuss more shared services and cooperation among local governments.
(Published Feb 24, 2010)

Shared services is back on the table this year at the Legislature with a few different variations. At least two different bills have been introduced that would create statewide councils with appointees coming from the various sectors—local government, business, and the state college system.

On Feb. 23, the League and other local government groups testified in the House K-12 Education Finance Division on HF 2840 (Rep. Marsha Swails, DFL-Woodbury, and Rep. Carol McFarlane, R-White Bear Lake). This bill sets up a collaborative governance council with appointments by all the statewide associations from the League of Minnesota Cities to the Minnesota School Boards Association, and would also include the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) employee unions. The 12-member council would be chaired by the state auditor, who already conducts best practices studies on local government service delivery. This hearing was for informational purposes only, and the bill will likely go on to the House State and Local Government Operations Reform, Technology and Elections Committee next.

The League, along with the other statewide associations, was asked to testify on the Swails/McFarlane legislation about what has worked with collaborations and where some of the obstacles lie. This bill represents the second year efforts have been made in this area to help local governments work together.

Similar legislation has been introduced in HF 3011 (Rep. Keith Downey, R-Edina) and SF 2620 (Sen. Terri Bonoff, DFL- Minnetonka), which would establish the Commission on Service Innovation. That bill appears to be broader in scope, looking at the realignment of service delivery by region and proximity, using technology and shared facilities, and with the focus on both state and local government services. The Downey/Bonoff legislation brings in more groups to the commission with representatives such as the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, Minnesota Business Partnership, and the University of Minnesota.

Pre-hearing meeting
The hearing followed a Feb. 22 meeting held by the Metro Cities organization, where they brought in the legislators working most closely on shared services, and close to 40 metro city officials to discuss the idea of shared services. The panel consisted of: Sen. Bonoff; Sen. Gen Olson (R-Minnestrista); Rep. Swails; Rep. McFarlane; Julie Wischnack, community development director for Minnetonka; and Justin Miller, city administrator of Falcon Heights. Brenda Weiler from the Minnesota Department of Administration was also on the panel to talk about cooperative purchasing.

Each legislator gave his or her background on the issue, with Reps. Swails and McFarlane explaining how they’d traveled the state talking with service cooperatives throughout the fall. The cities gave examples of their sharing of services, and sometimes employees, with neighboring cities. The 90-minute discussion provided a good dialogue for legislators and those participating cities with several good points made about new mandates, making sure an evaluation tool is part of any council’s work, and realistic expectations.

It is likely the K-12 committee is the first of many stops for these types of bills this session. If these bills are truly cost-free, we should expect to see something become law this year.

On a related note—a general moratorium on unfunded mandates bill was introduced recently as HF 3087 (Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall) / SF 2747 (Sen. Chris Gerlach, R-Apple Valley). In addition to the moratorium, the bill would create a Local Government Mandate Relief Commission and a Business Mandate Relief and Paperwork Reduction Commission. Both commissions have reports due in December, and would expire at the end of 2010.

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