David A. Collinsworth was recently appointed to the Local Government Innovation Council by Governor John R. Kasich for a term beginning September 30, 2011 and ending September 29, 2013.

The new 15-member Council was created by the Kasich administration to help oversee and implement cost-savings tools for local governments and schools in order to adjust to funding cuts from the state.  The Council, along with the state Department of Development, will administer the Local Government Innovation Program to award loans or grants to political subdivisions and schools that collaborate and develop programs to share resources or services. 

The program will receive $45 million in FY2013 and funds will be awarded in two tiers: one for governments of less than 50,000 population and counties with less than 130,000 population, and a second tier for larger governments.  Up to 20% of the funds will be awarded as grants, the remainder through a revolving loan program to be repaid from savings from the new efficiencies.  Each government entity is eligible for up to $100,000 and projects with multiple participants are eligible for up to $500,000.

“The Council is poised to foster partnerships and collaborations that public entities may not have had the resources to explore before now,” said Collinsworth.  “Our objective is to break down barriers and reward deserving programs from which innovation and best practices emerge.  Through these awards, we expect to be able to find new collaborative models for delivering public services that will help Ohioans in communities of all sizes.”

Collinsworth has been City Manager for the City of Westerville since December 2007, after serving as manager in Tipp City, Ohio for more than 10 years.  In Westerville, he oversees the programs and services of 10 departments, including a municipal electric and water utility as well as a nationally-renowned Parks and Recreation department featuring more than 40 parks and 26 miles of leisure trails and bikeways.  Collinsworth is responsible for more than 425 full-time employees and an annual city budget exceeding $150 million. 

For more information on the City of Westerville, please visit www.westerville.org.  For more information on the Local Government Innovation Council, please call (614) 644-6474.