What are shared services?
Promoting shared services or service sharing has been a priority of CRCOG for many years. Shared services can provide municipalities, school districts, councils of governments, and other public agencies with the ability to pool their resources to provide a higher level of service, while taking advantage of economies of scale to utilize taxpayer funds more efficiently and effectively.
Service sharing is often used to provide administrative and support services, such as financial management, information technology, and facilities maintenance. Within the CRCOG region, the municipalities of Mansfield, Plainville, and West Hartford all share administrative and support services with their respective school districts.
The shared services model is also effective for community-based services, particularly those requiring a specialized professional or technical skill set such as animal control, building inspection, waste management, and public health. The Town of Bolton, for instance, manages a regional building inspection program that serves three other communities – Andover, Ashford, and Willington. As another example, the municipalities of Windsor and Bloomfield have shared a landfill and transfer station for many years.
Good governance, communication, and collaboration are all essential components to a successful shared services partnership. Interlocal agreements or other collaborative agreements are recommended as a governance tool to detail how the participating entities will fund, manage, and provide shared services. Regular meetings and interaction between the principals is also encouraged to foster communication and collaboration, and to track performance.
The State of Connecticut supports service sharing by statute and through various grant programs. The Regional Performance Incentive Program (RPIP) administered by the Office of Policy & Management (OPM) offers an opportunity to lower barriers of entry for shared services. Grant recipients can use the program to fund staff and support infrastructure to start up a new shared service venture. Both councils of governments (COG) and regional education service centers (RESC) are eligible to apply to the RPIP on behalf of their members. Please contact Robyn Nichols for more information on RPIP grants.
Additionally, the Capitol Region Purchasing Council (CRPC) is frequently used for joint contracting, currently serving over 140 municipalities, BOE's, and other various gov't organizations. The CRPC functions as both a supplemental procurement office as well as a distributor of purchasing-related information and expertise. Please contact Kim Bona for more information on the CRPC.
Examples in our Region
See example agreements for the services in bold below
Animal control
Building inspection
Dispatch services
Economic development
Financial management
Fire prevention
K-12 Education
Facilities and grounds maintenance
Human resources
IT support
Public health
Waste management
Water and wastewater services
Childcare services
Relevant Statutes and Laws
Public Act including Governors Bill on shared services (pg 154)
Permits municipalities to jointly perform municipal functions
Allows municipalities to enter an agreement to share tax revenues
Allows municipalities to share personal and property tax income from new economic development to fund regional economic development
Outline of RPIP program
Defines key terms in shared services and interlocal agreements
Allows towns to establish a regional revaluation program.
Allows municipalities to jointly issue bonds
Allows for the formation of a regional economic development commission
Allows municipalities to enter an agreement to assign police personnel to another municipality temporarily
All statutes relating to Metropolitan Districts
Allows municipalities to jointly carry out a community development activity
Allows municipalities to jointly implement a development project
Allows municipalities to jointly implement a development project
Allows municipalities to create joint boards for services. Used in the creation of the CCSWA.
Two or more municipalities in an interlocal agreement are considered a single employer.
Allows municipalities to pool risk by co-purchasing insurance.
Additional Resources
State of New York Local Government Management Guide: Shared Services in Local Government. Please note, since this document is from another state, the statutory references do not apply for Connecticut, and it is being provided for general information only.
Capital Region Purchasing Council (CRPC) A cooperative council which offers programs and services for our members to save money, time, and create efficiencies.
