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<br />ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br /> <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br /> Meeting Date: April 9, 2019 <br /> Action Agenda <br /> Item No. 1 <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Discussion on a Potential Framework for Intergovernmental Collaboration with <br />Municipal Partners <br /> <br />DEPARTMENT: County Manager’s Office <br /> <br /> <br />ATTACHMENT(S): <br />Attachment A: Proposal from the Dispute <br />Settlement Center <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />INFORMATION CONTACT: <br /> Travis Myren, 919-245-2300 <br /> Bonnie Hammersley, 919-245-2300 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />PURPOSE: To discuss a potential framework for intergovernmental collaboration with the <br />County’s municipal partners. <br /> <br />BACKGROUND: During the Board’s annual retreat, one of the themes that emerged was a <br />desire to improve collaboration and cooperation with the municipalities within the County. This <br />type of intergovernmental collaboration has historically been facilitated through a joint meeting <br />process. However, some feedback to staff suggested that some elected officials believed the <br />joint meeting framework lacked a clear purpose and few deliverables. <br /> <br />As part of a brainstorming exercise about how to have a more deliberate collaboration process, <br />the School Collaboration framework seemed to represent a good example of how the County <br />and the school districts are able to identify joint issues, set goals, and reduce collaboration <br />barriers. The School Collaboration framework consists of representatives from the County and <br />each of the school districts, administrative leadership from each body, and other staff as <br />required for support on specific topics. The Collaboration work group is facilitated by a <br />professional facilitator who solicits agenda items in advance of the meeting, facilitates the work <br />group meetings, and creates a set of minutes from those meetings that is distributed to each of <br />the governing bodies. <br /> <br />A similar framework could be used with municipalities where a small group of representatives <br />from each of the governing boards meets to explore collaboration opportunities and report out <br />results. The role of the facilitator is outlined in the proposal from the Dispute Settlement Center <br />which is provided as Attachment A. <br /> <br />FINANCIAL IMPACT: No financial impact is associated with this discussion. If the Board <br />chooses to employ a framework that involves a professional facilitator, funds would need to be <br />budgeted to compensate the facilitator.