National Association of Counties * Washington, DC / Vol. 30, No. 14 * July 20, 1998

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Counties and Cities Work Together for a Livable Future

Just beneath the logo of the Joint Center for Sustainable Communities (the NACo and U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) partnership for strengthening community development) appear the words "Cities and Counties Working Together for a Livable Future."

This motto is very well chosen, because the Joint Center was founded on the belief that by working together as partners rather than as competitors, counties and cities will be more able to secure a high quality of life for their citizens, and sustain it for future generations.

HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo (l) makes a point as NACo President Randy Johnson looks on at a recent meeting about county-city partnerships.

By forging well-crafted, long-term partnerships, cities and counties can become more economically competitive, more efficient, and better able to address the needs of their shared community.

The combined economic strength of cities and counties in partnerships greatly surpasses that of their individual economies.

A recent study on regional economies, produced for the Joint Center by Standard and Poor's DRI, revealed that the economic output of several of America's city/county regional partnerships surpasses that of many of the world's nations.

The aggregate strength of these cities and counties provides an enormous competitive advantage in the age of globalization, when the combination of industry, infrastructure, environments, and resources that city/county partnerships provide make these communities far more attractive to business and new investments.

Partnerships form a basis for mutual examination of regulations, ordinances that inhibit sustainable growth, and they help reduce duplication of effort and unnecessary administrative costs, allowing for more efficient use of limited resources.

Mayors and county officials nationwide are proving that city/county partnerships are an effective approach to strengthening their communities, and increasing America's competitiveness worldwide.

The federal government has taken notice, and asked the Joint Center to advise them on ways that they can encourage their development. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Andrew Cuomo has been particularly active in soliciting the center's input as he works to redefine the relationship between HUD and local communities in more regional terms

The center is taking several steps to respond to HUD's request, and to increase awareness of the promise of city/county partnerships. Recently, the center convened a panel of leading experts in the formation of effective city/county partnerships to tell HUD what has been done and provide advice on how to reposition itself to better serve local communities.

Led by NACo President Randy Johnson and U.S. Conference of Mayors immediate past president, Paul Helmke, these mayors and county officials are providing concrete best practice examples, suggesting new ap-proaches and pointing out programmatic and regulatory barriers that inhibit the development of city/county partnerships.

There are many approaches to forging county/city partnerships that encourage sustainable community development, ranging from the highly formalized governing model in Portland, host of this year's NACo Annual Conference, to much more informal cooperative alliances. What is important is that local officials work with each other and their constituents on developing a structure that best fits their community vision.

The Joint Center will support these efforts by publishing best practice guidebooks and facilitating peer exchanges.

To encourage partnerships, it is of utmost importance that all local officials are made aware of their benefits. To promote these efforts, the Excellence in City/County Partnerships awards program will be announced by Cuomo at the Annual Conference.

In this era of limited federal resources, free trade and increasing economic competitiveness, cities and counties need to do all that they can to assure that their communities are as well positioned as possible to compete in the international arena.

County/city partnerships provide a stable mechanism for addressing problems that do not recognize jurisdictional borders, strengthen the ties between members of a community and significantly increase the econo-mic strength and competitiveness of all participants.

The Joint Center for Sustainable Communities continues to believe in "Cities and Counties Working Together for a Livable Future," and will continue to work with local leaders and supporters to encourage the partnerships which help secure that future.

Please contact the Joint Center at 800/696-1667 to receive your city/county awards application.

(County Services News was written by Martin L. Harris, special assistant, County Services Department.)