Fenton Joins 'Future Genesee' on Exploring Shared Services

Gov. Rick Snyder has asked local communities to develop plans to share services and save tax dollars, with a Jan. 1, 2012 deadline. Many local governments have been sharing certain services for many years. And now Fenton is joining other local governments in Genesee County, in the Flint Area Reinvestment Office-led "Future Genesee," for new ways to make it happen.

President Mike Brown, of the Flint Area Reinvestment Office, said each municipality is the ultimate decision-maker for itself. "It's nonbinding."

His organization will have a 25-member citizens' committee sit for 60 days, gather information and issue a report that will be given to participating communities. It's scheduled to begin in mid- to late August, and elected officials from the participating communities will be a resource. Fenton's council appointed Mayor Sue Osborn as its representative, and the city will appoint a general citizen as well.

A half-dozen communities in Genesee County have voted to join so far, with several others that will consider it before the end of the month, Brown said. The Genesee County Board of Commissioners supported Future Genesee with a 9-0 vote.

If there will be money available for state revenue-sharing for those who cooperate, "we want to be positioned to take advantage of it," Brown said.

Former Lt. Gov. John Cherry, now chairman of the Community Leadership group for the Flint Area Reinvestment Office, said Future Genesee will examine areas where communities might want to share services, what roadblocks they could face and changes that might be needed administratively to allow shared services to proceed. One roadblock could be different accounting systems, so the Flint Area Reinvestment Office might need to find resources to help people merge accounting systems or work through this problem.

School districts are not being included at this time. The focus is on local governments, Brown said.

Fenton and other local governments in Genesee County are facing reduced state revenue sharing and property tax revenue, due to the real estate market, Cherry said. They are struggling and looking for ways to save a dollar here and there, without their communities suffering and needing to reduce services.

The Flint Area Reinvestment Office doesn't want to waste a lot of time or money in the effort, Brown said. If it's obvious some areas of shared services are off the table, it won't pursue it. Instead, it will concentrate on areas where communities could share services, like parks, planning and purchasing, for example.

Osborn said Fenton already is working with eight surrounding municipalities, on shared services. She and city manager Lynn Markland will bring information back from a seminar offered through Central Michigan University, with city attorney Stephen Schultz as a facilitator. They will present ideas on how to proceed, specifically, with shared services.

In addition, Markland is having Fenton department supervisors work with surrounding municipal supervisors. They are trying to do as much as they can to work with surrounding local governments to save money, Osborn said. And Fenton is adjusting its health care costs for its employees to cut some of its budget.

Revenues are decreasing for all local governments, and Fenton really wants to be involved in Future Genesee, she said. They might learn something new.

Mayor Pro Tem John Rauch said Cherry attended a Small Cities meeting, and he is impressed with the program Cherry is promoting.