I am a senior fellow (old!) with the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs. I have been asked by several small counties in Illinois to investigate the concept of "circuit-riding" shared small county managers. Does anyone know if this is being done anywhere? Is it a good/bad/practicable/impracticable idea? Any feedback, guidance, contacts appreciated.
Thanks, Jim Nowlan

Hi Jim, I reposted this question in the Small Communities group and Cory Fleming, Senior Project Manager for ICMA, said, "I think the practicality of circuit-riding depends largely on the compatability of the jurisdictions sharing the service. If there's a history of good will and collaboration between the jurisdictions, it might work. But I think elected officials must discuss and decide in advance how to handle situations where the ciruit rider might feel pulled in multiple directions, i.e., helping to locate a new industry. Interestingly, one of the education sessions for this year's annual conference will be on the ethics of regionalism and how managers make the call on representing the best interests of their communities versus the best interests of the region, so clearly the question is on a lot of people's minds."