By Andrew Tellijohn

Before 2020, the City of Sartell had managed its own technology services using a variety of different private consultants.

It wasn’t working well.

“Sartell was using anybody they could find for the specific service needed,” says City Administrator Anna Gruber, who arrived in 2020. “It was pretty costly and wasn’t necessarily consistent service.”

Meanwhile, in 2018, Sartell-St. Stephen School District Director of Technology Kyle Breitkreutz had received several awards for overseeing the use of technology to increase opportunities and accessibility for student learning.

“We reached out to him regarding a potential partnership of assisting our city with our information technology (IT) needs and it has worked out phenomenally,” says Gruber. She noted that for a monthly fee, the city gets access to the school district’s staff and consistent help from people who are familiar with its needs. “We pay a fee to them, but it’s significantly more affordable.”

The staff still works for the school district, but they spend Fridays in city offices. The arrangement has also allowed the city and school district to map out some efficiencies in the use of fiber networks, software needs, and security cameras.

“There are a lot of similarities between the two partners,” she says, adding that if there are issues outside of Fridays, the city has access to a help desk. “They do it all for us.”

Not a new strategy

Cities partner with other entities through joint agreements in a number of areas, though such relationships are not as common in technology. One exception is Metro-INET, which started in 1999 as a collaboration between the cities of Roseville and Mounds View.

Through word of mouth, the organization expanded to begin providing services to more metro area cities, says Holly LaRochelle, executive director of Metro-INET. Since then, it has grown to serve 43 members, with the majority being small cities.

“There’s never been any real recruitment done,” adds Pete Bauer, deputy IT director for Metro-INET. “It has grown organically over the years with a word-of-mouth approach. As IT services became more important, local municipalities struggled to get the correct resources in place and enter contracts that provide the correct level of service for their community’s needs.”

Growth in partners and services

With organic growth, Metro-INET spun off from the City of Roseville in 2021 and became its own organization through the formation of a joint powers organization. The organization is governed by its members and now provides services to 2,000 accounts associated with small cities and other governmental entities.

LMC resources available to help

Cities are encouraged to use the League of Minnesota Cities as a resource when considering technology service agreements like Sartell, or when creating or joining a joint powers entity.

LMC Chief Information Officer Melissa Reeder notes that in September 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a first-of-its-kind cybersecurity grant program specifically for state, local, and territorial governments.

Referred to as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), it appropriates $23 million over four years with 80% passthrough to local entities.

“It is especially difficult for small cities to acquire and support technology at the level needed to be effective, efficient, and secure.” Reeder says. “There will be an emphasis on using grant funding for shared service models that could include state-local public/private partnerships. Entities like a joint powers or other shared technology service agreements can stretch those funds.”

It has been a tremendously beneficial arrangement in Sartell, where service has improved in a cost-efficient manner.

“I couldn’t encourage it more,” Gruber says. “It has been such a relief for us. I could not think of a better scenario. I definitely encourage cities to reach out and see if they are able to work out a similar partnership.”

For more information about League resources and assistance on joint powers, contact Melissa Reeder, at mreeder@lmc.org or (651) 281-1221.

Andrew Tellijohn is a freelance writer.