To effectively address all the areas targeted for assistance in Zapotlán el Grande, the cities of Avondale, Gilbert, and Yuma divided the leadership of each area based on each city’s expertise. Avondale addressed solid waste management issues; Gilbert attended to water and wastewater management concerns; and Yuma concentrated on public safety and citizen participation needs. In the area of solid waste disposal, the municipality implemented an intensive outreach environmental program and implemented recommendations to mitigate water runoff pollution from the landfill site. Zapotlán also benefited from a system that collects information on the costs, resources utilized, and number of residents serviced by municipal refuse and landfill operations.

In water and wastewater operations, the municipality implemented recommendations to supervise the wastewater treatment plant and improve intermunicipal communication and cooperation to reduce water pollution. For example, Zapotlán was able to coordinate activities with the municipal slaughterhouse to reduce and subsequently eliminate blood from flowing into the sewer system.

A key component of the public safety program in Zapotlán el Grande was community outreach. Zapotlán made significant administrative improvements to the community-policing program, such as producing an operational manual for internal policies and for outreach programs, and also implementing a new system to present budget requests. The outreach program consisted of strategic educational messages printed on all police cars as well as innovative methods for strengthening communications with communities. As an additional accomplishment, the municipality reduced police response time. The community-policing program and other departments in the municipality benefited from the newly created Citizen Participation Department, which coordinated municipal activities with citizens. This department developed and distributed a citizen involvement manual to municipal departments and also developed a citizen information and orientation module.

From its partners, Zapotlán el Grande learned about the different techniques, processes, and models used in the United States to support financial and accounting systems. The municipality was able to implement a single accounting system that can produce different reports: one for the municipal managers and one for the State Congress, as required by law. Other achievements include the development of an operational manual and new procurement policies and procedures. The municipality also began tracking expenses by department against the approved budget.