In 2009 with the departure of the incumbent P&R Director and facing the reality of laying off park line employees the City Burlingame again considered combining departments or sharing of a P&R Director. The relatively new Librarian didn’t relish the thought of taking on Parks and Recreation, two services in which she had no previous experience. The City of Brisbane 8.5 miles north of Burlingame offered to share it’s P&R Director in anticipation of eliminating that position when the incumbent retired in the future.

Today, the Care1st Avondale Resource and Housing Center is a model for duplication by other communities. In 2011, Care1st opened its second facility in the Town of Gila Bend, located in a remote section of Maricopa County. By providing area residents access to much needed health and social services in one convenient location, the Care1st Avondale Resource and Housing Center has improved the lives and health of families in the region.

The Alliance has collected the following lessons learned as it relates to sharing services and conducting partnerships. These lessons are offered as considerations when thinking through the collaboration process.

The essence of collaboration is working together to get something done that cannot be done working alone. Collaboration in local government involves working across institutional boundaries to engage outside individuals and entities in a way that reshapes the processes of decision making or service delivery.

This collaboration of four public partners resulted from long standing goodwill through existing joint use of community and school facilities. As the parties initiated their partnership, they developed a charter outlining values and a shared goal to guide their way through construction of the $62 million multi-use facility.

The “New Normal” is an opportunity to confront your assumptions, beliefs and views of local government that you have learned and adopted.