Driving Down Costs with
Intergovernmental Agreements
and Cloud Solutions
Today’s Goal
Discuss varying Intergovernmental
Agreements & Cloud Solutions
Provide examples of cost-saving
options
Cover steps you should consider for
both intergovernmental agreements
& cloud solutions
Intergovernmental Agreements
Are you familiar with agreements
available to you?
What agreements are you
leveraging today?
Are you in process of looking at
any agreements?
Are there areas you wish you could
see such agreements?
Types of Agreements
Handshake Agreements
Act 177 Agreements
Councils of Governments (COG)
Joint Authorities
Cooperative Planning and Land Use
Regulation
Other Methods of Cooperation
Intergovernmental Agreements
CCAPs Microsoft Enterprise Agreement
PEPPM
Minnesota Cooperative Purchasing
NJPA
NCPA
COSTARs
NationalIPA
ProcureSource
A Few Examples
Other Examples of
Intergovernmental Agreements
San Diego County entered into a joint
agreement for shared fire protection
Intergovernmental agreements vital to
Albany/Dougherty County services
HealthCare Alliance – A program of the
County Commissioners Association
U.S. Communities Government
Motivators for Intergovernmental
Agreements
More than 1,600 local governments with existing intergovernmental contracts for service delivery reported on the factors motivating them to enter into the service agreements:
•Save money: 81%
•Achieve economies of scale: 70% •Lack of private providers: 63%
•Strengthen collaborative intergovernmental relations: 63%
•Promote higher quality/more effective service delivery:
60%
•Promote regional service integration: 54% •Access technical expertise: 35% •Avoid shedding services: 14%
What are the obstacles to successful
cooperative arrangements?
Successful agreements deal with all these points.
Respondents identified a number of
obstacles to intergovernmental
contracting. The top three are shown
below:
•Concern about community control
(69% reporting)
•Lack of common vision/shared mission
(46% reporting)
•Lack of trust (43% reporting)
Avoiding the Obstacles
Start off on the right foot
• Be Inclusive
• Involve Elected Officials
• Involve Municipal Staff
• Start With An Easy Project
• Communicate Effectively
Maintain A Cooperative Spirit
• Be Proactive
• Be Flexible
• Be Patient
• Think Regionally
Avoiding the Obstacles
Proceed With Care
•
Study Options Thoroughly
•Select Realistic Programs
•Pay Attention to the Little Things
•Watch Out for the Ease of Informality
Allocate Costs Fairly
•
Focus on Cost Savings and Outputs
•Share Total Costs
•
Set Up a Positive Cash Flow
•Avoid Overdependence on Grants
Avoiding the Obstacles
Deal Directly With Problems
•Learn From Failures
•
Address Turf Issues
•
Recognize Historical Animosities
•Respond Directly to Challenges
Source: Pennsylvania
Intergovernmental Cooperation
Handbook
Why Cooperate?
Shared interests and
interdependence
Economies of scale
So How do I Start?
Be creative
Think about the
services that you
purchase that are
purchased by others
Look at what others are
doing
Think about some of your pain points
Look for ways to solve mutual
problems with other government
organizations
Think about starting small
So How do I Start?
Cloud Solutions - What Does This
Mean to You?
Are you using
the cloud
today?
In what ways are you using cloud
service options?
Are you considering other solutions in
the cloud?
Do or can cloud solutions save you
money?
How is cloud changing IT budgets
and processes?
Technology and computing was
Capital intensive
Dependent upon on premise technology
Dependent upon on premise staff
Required purchase lead times
Might need additional infrastructure
Testing before deployment
Traditionally
Cloud provider
•
Sets up the infrastructure
•Manages the equipment
and licenses
•
Delivers internet-based
services
•
Resolves service
problems
The Business
•
Does not incur the capital
expense
•
Pays a recurring
operational expense
•
No longer has maintenance
or support direct expenses
•
Allows IT to focus on
services rather than just
technology
With Cloud Services…
Business leaders and departments play a
bigger role in service evaluation, testing,
recommendation and negotiation.
IF a cloud service is cheaper and better
than the on premise service, the
business can opt to take the service
outside.
With many vendors, you can shop
around
Results?
More Common Moves to the Cloud
Email (Outlook, Google)
User Documents (One Drive, Drop Box,
Google Drive)
Websites (CCAP, Civic Plus)
Web-based Applications (GIS, Payroll,
CCAP/Cooperative County Efforts)
Backups (Barracuda, Azure, Symantec)
Government and the Cloud
GSA-US General Services Administration
– Cloud Focused Contracts
• The Cloud First policy mandates that agencies take full advantage of cloud computing benefits to maximize capacity utilization, improve IT flexibility and responsiveness, and minimize cost. • We help agencies comply with mandates and guidelines for
moving to the cloud.
• Our cloud IT services provide convenient, on-demand access to a shared pool of computing resources that can be quickly and easily configured, provisioned, and released.
Free templates for migration to the cloud
Government and the Cloud
Franklin County
City of Altoona
Lancaster County
Montgomery County
Mifflin County
Huntingdon County
NASA
Wyoming
City of Portland
San Jose
Palo Alto
Georgia
Top Ten Considerations for Cloud Solutions
Vendor certifications to ensure compliance with
regulations
Vendor knows your industry
Understand bandwidth limitations
Data encryption (transit and at rest)
Read the provider’s SLA
Know how much it REALLY will cost you
Don’t overbuy
Make sure you can recover/restore your data
Have a backup plan
Measuring Your Benefits and Savings
Intergovernmental Agreements
-Closing Remarks
Cooperation is the Future
Why cooperate? The preceding sections have outlined some
of the reasons why municipal governments should work together: our interdependence; greater efficiency; and more effectiveness.
As communities grow, so do needs for new and expanded
services. As time passes, our citizens come to expect more from their municipal governments. The state and federal governments continue to require more sophistication, services and paperwork.
Our response to meet these increasing demands is for
municipalities to work together. Cooperation is the future of local government.
The question is whether it is in your future.
Closing Remarks
Cloud Solutions … May make sense when you compare your current costs,
capabilities, and strategy for solutions
May be a cost effective solution, but may not fit in all areas You may end up with a “hybrid” approach (so some of your
solutions in the cloud, some on premise)
Start Small
Ensure a good fit with your selected provider Consider open options
QUESTIONS?
?
Contact
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania Kathie Zullinger SharePoint Manager & Software Licensing Specialist717-526-1010 X 3353
