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.