What Happened?
Las Vegas and North Las Vegas have agreed to extend a shared services agreement first started in 2011 to integrate certain public sector departments and make better use of valuable resources. The permanently shared services will impact about a dozen municipal agencies and save the city millions of dollars through reductions in staff and administrative costs.
The Goal
Las Vegas and North Las Vegas agreed to coordinate on fire training programs and detention center plans in 2011 to optimize resources. After that program proved successful, and North Las Vegas continues to struggle through the aftermath of the economic recession, the cities opted to expand the shared services agreement to include more departments.
The wide-ranging shared services agreement calls for collaboration with park maintenance, business licensing, animal control and many more local amenities for residents. While the two cities will be working together and sharing facilities, manpower and infrastructure, neither city views the proposal as a consolidation initiative. Rather, it is specifically designed as a shared services agreement that maintains separate entities but creates more cooperative relationships over city lines.
Las Vegas has more access to capital than North Las Vegas, making it easier for the city to hire experts that understand how to reduce costs and increase efficiency in the public delivery of services. North Las Vegas is under threat of bankruptcy or a state takeover if it is not able to make significant cuts in spending and implement strategies for long-term sustainability.
Therefore, expanding and strengthening the partnership between the two cities will enhance financial growth and hopefully prevent North Las Vegas from filing for bankruptcy while creating profitable opportunities for Las Vegas as well. To achieve these end results, Las Vegas officials will review North Las Vegas operations; identify areas for economic development, redevelopment, financing and IT adoption; and implement new strategies through the partnership.
History of Sharing
In 2011, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas launched a shared services agreement for the fire training program to optimize both cities’ manpower and equipment while lowering the overall costs of the program. The agreement called for Las Vegas to collaborate with North Las Vegas in training firefighters from both municipalities.
The agreement between the cities calls for Las Vegas and North Las Vegas to jointly coordinate all training for fire departments and rescue crews.
Under the agreement, the city of Las Vegas is to pay North Las Vegas’ higher-up firefighter officials’ salaries equal to payments made to Las Vegas officials. Las Vegas will be limited to a maximum of 3 percent increase on an annual basis no matter what salary or benefit boosts North Las Vegas fire department officials enact.
Furthermore, Las Vegas and North Las Vegas already share jail services, a strategy that has saved North Las Vegas more than $11 million annually when it closed its local detention facility. Las Vegas earns an extra $6 million per year under the shared services agreement, creating a mutually beneficial model that has set the tone for the expanded collaboration proposal.
Sharing Is Caring
Gov1 has kept a close eye on shared services strategies across the country that seek to optimize regional resources to create a collaborative economic marketplace.