Hayes, C. (2013). "Intermunicipal Sharing: BOCES helps Towns and Schools Cooperate across New York," Shared Services Project, Dept of City and Regional Planning, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
As the cost of municipal services increases faster than inflation, municipalities facing fiscal crisis increasingly seek savings by jointly purchasing, producing, or delivering goods and services. These arrangements increase purchasing power, make efficient use of resources, and create economies of scale. However, challenges such as finding partners, the costs of managing and designing contracts, and maintaining consistent leadership have prevented consistent success for ad-hoc agreements and Councils of Government. New York State Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) across New York State are helping many municipalities, school districts, and educational nonprofits overcome these challenges, and they may be able to play an even greater role in the future. This brief discusses case studies and the result of key informant interviews on the potential for intermunicipal sharing with BOCES.
Subject: Intermunicipal Cooperation