Collaborative Programming for Youth

Working Together in Service to Shared Constituencies

Counties, cities, schools and special districts are distinct legal entities that have no control over each other (except for dependent special districts). Yet these entities usually have overlapping constituencies. Those constituencies provide financial support to these local agencies through taxes, assessments, fees and other kinds of service charges.

For this reason, local agencies are alert to opportunities to work together in order to stretch those resources as far as possible. Agencies collaborate in many ways such as joint purchasing programs, joint provision of public services, joint use of public facilities, and joint study sessions. In this way, local agencies are striving to stretch taxpayer resources as far as possible in service to shared constituents.