DEPARTMENT: Central Operations
FILE TYPE: Regular Information
TITLE
title
Report On Dakota County Cost Participation Partnership Approach
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PURPOSE/ACTION REQUESTED
Receive a report on the Dakota County Cost Participation Partnership Approach study and provide direction to staff on potential changes to the county approach to funding projects going forward.
SUMMARY
Dakota County has worked with city, township, and school district partners on a wide variety of projects for decades. These projects cross almost all division and department lines in the county and have proven to be successful in both service delivery and beneficial to the taxpayers.
One of the more visible partnership projects that the county and cities have worked on is the Dakota 911 dispatch center. This joint dispatch center was established through a joint power’s agreement between Dakota County and the 11 major cities in the county. It has operated successfully since its inception and has grown into a model dispatch facility.
As a part of the joint powers agreement that was amended in 2021, Dakota County agreed to evaluate increasing its share of fixed costs for 2025 and subsequent years to more than 50% and up to potentially 100%. This request caused the County Board to ask staff to look at the county approach to funding some of our most significant joint projects.
The Office of Performance and Analysis gathered data on six significant joint projects and county staff added history and context to the attached report. The report is not meant to be all inclusive of all the projects the county works on with cities, townships, and schools. Instead, it is meant to provide insight into the more significant projects we partner on and provide more detail on the financial contributions provided by all parties. Comparison with other counties proved to be difficult outside of the transportation cost participation project.
The six joint projects included in the report are the transportation cost participation policy, transportation advance funding program, Dakota 911 funding, embedded social workers program, absentee voting administration/election equipment/equipment maintenance, and the criminal justice network.
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Staff recommends that the County Board review the attached report and discuss the county approach to funding joint projects. Specifically, staff would like direction on the Dakota 911 issue of potentially taking on a higher portion of the fixed costs of the organization.
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EXPLANATION OF FISCAL/FTE IMPACTS
The financial impact of all current joint projects are included in annual county budgets. Any financial changes going forward would need to be accounted for in future county budgets.
☐ None ☒ Current budget ☐ Other
☐ Amendment Requested ☐ New FTE(s) requested
RESOLUTION
body
Information only; no action requested.
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PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION
None.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment: Dakota County Cost Participation Partnership Approach
Attachment: Presentation Slides
BOARD GOALS
☐ Thriving People ☐ A Healthy Environment with Quality Natural Resources
☐ A Successful Place for Business and Jobs ☒ Excellence in Public Service
CONTACT
Department Head: David McKnight
Author: David McKnight