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Welcome to skinnyOhio.org
A Resource for Smarter, Streamlined Government
Ohio’s fiscal reality demands - and its citizens deserve - clean, accountable and efficient government. skinnyOhio.org is a new tool in our effort to meet this standard. Through this site, we share best practices in critical areas of government agencies that performance audits have identified as opportunities for potential savings.
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Local Government Innovation Fund
Local governments can apply to receive funding to stimulate efficiency, collaboration, shared services and mergers. MORE INFORMATION
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Shared Services in the News
Field, Waterloo Boards Debate Shared Superintendent
Members of the Field and Waterloo boards of education expressed hope that sharing a superintendent would save money for both districts Thursday, but some board members and residents had a hard time understanding how one superintendent could effectively oversee both districts.
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Berkshire, Newbury School Boards Talking Shared Services, Consolidation
Neighboring Berkshire and Newbury school boards met earlier this week to discuss shared services as well as the possibility of consolidating districts to save costs.
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Commissioners OK Deal; Key Mutual Aid Agreement to Focus on Arson Cases
A mutual aid fire/arson investigation agreement between the Lorain County Sheriff’s Office and several communities and fire districts in the county was approved by the Lorain County commissioners yesterday.
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Field, Waterloo to Talk About Shared Superintendent
School boards from the Field and Waterloo districts will meet in April to discuss the possibility of sharing the superintendent services of Waterloo's Andrew Hill.
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Time is Ripe for Consolidation of City and County 911 Systems
Last fall, The Vindicator "urged Mayor Charles Sammarone to be aggressive in implementing the recommendations of a Youngstown government efficiency study that warns of difficult economic times in the not-too-distant future."
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Editorial: Getting to the Facts on Regionalism Opportunities
Cuyahoga County - Grant money has helped Cuyahoga County hire the Center for Governmental Research -- a Rochester, N.Y., think tank -- to help four East Side suburbs assess in detail the mechanics and costs of merging key public services or even creating a single new municipality.
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Editorial: Radio Wave
Akron - The Akron Beacon Journal writes how communities partnered together and successfully received federal grant money that will improve efficiencies in radio dispatching systems.
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Four Suburbs to Study Consolidation of 911 Dispatch Centers
Columbus - Four Columbus suburbs will spend more than $50,000 in state grants to study the feasibility of merging their 911 dispatching operations.
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Grant Funds Police Study
Brookfield - In hopes of creating a "skinny Ohio," Brookfield has been approved for a $27,000 grant to explore the possibility of combining police forces with Hubbard city and township.
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Lake County Agrees to Participate in Public Works Sharing Services Program
Lake County commissioners have approved an agreement to participate in a countywide public works sharing and use program.
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Hubbard and Liberty Sharing a Treasurer
Liberty - The Hubbard school district has agreed to a temporary sharing of its treasurer with Liberty schools. The shared venture is an effort to help Liberty with its cash-strapped budget
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Schools, City of Medina Look for Ways to Collaborate
Medina - Collaborating on payroll and health insurance were some of the possibilities discussed during a meeting between the Medina school board and city officials Monday.
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Portage, Summit Towns to Share Resources
Ravenna - The city of Ravenna is joining with its neighbors to create a mutual aid program with a different twist.
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Mentor Council OKs Move to Join County Equipment-Sharing Program
Mentor - The city of Mentor is leading the way in a program that could prove financially beneficial for municipalities across the county.
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Willoughby City Council Approves Shared Services Agreement
Willoughby - Tuesday evening, Willoughby City Council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing Mayor David Anderson to enter into a public works non-emergency and emergency shared services agreement with county and local governments in Lake County.
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Vanlue, Kenton Agree to Share School Treasurer
Vanlue - Vanlue and Kenton school districts have agreed to share a treasurer, school administrators announced this week.
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New Mowing Policy Saves Ottawa $13,000
Ottawa - Ottawa's new way of mowing saved the village nearly $13,000 over what it spent in 2011 for mowing.
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Bay Village Mayor Deborah Sutherland says city will move forward with effort to regionalize fire services
Bay Village - The city will move forward with efforts to regionalize fire services despite voters rejecting four charter amendments on the November ballot, two of which would have made forming a regional fire authority easier.
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University Heights to hold town hall meeting about possibility of shared fire services with Shaker Heights
University Heights - The mayor said the purpose is to hear residents’ feedback on the recommendations that are part of the study that includes four different models for joint operation of the two cities’ fire departments.
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Lake County Communitiies Lead Way for Public Works Shared Services Agreement
Lake County - The initiative is spearheaded by Ohio Auditor Dave Yost’s office and will enable communities to share capital equipment and other resources as a way to potentially save money.
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Medina, Cloverleaf Schools Agree to Share Treasurer
Medina - Medina Schools treasurer Jim Hudson will be paid his current salary of $90,500, but will divide his time between both districts, spending several days a week in one and several days in the other.
School officials said both districts will save money.
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State Officials Praise Toledo, Ottawa Hills Fire Merger
State officials in Ottawa Hills on Wednesday touted the village's merger with the City of Toledo to provide fire services as a shining example of how other municipalities can work together to save money.
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Study to be Sought for Merger Departments
Youngstown - The possible merger of the Youngstown and Mahoning County health departments has gotten to the money-commitment stage.
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Communities Discuss Sharing Equipment
Stow - A group of nearly a dozen municipalities, plus the Ohio Department of Transportation, took the next step toward regional sharing of service department equipment.
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Counties to Share Agency Director
Champaign and Logan counties will share a top administrator for their Departments of Job and Family Services in an experiment that will save cash for each county.
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Ohio Local Governments to Explore Shared IT Services
School districts across Ohio’s Mahoning and Columbiana counties have been using shared IT services for decades — and now area local governments want in on the action.
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Counties to Offer Imaging Services
Toledo - With plans to offer digital imaging to surrounding counties while making their own records centers self-sustaining, the clerks of courts in Lucas and Wood counties are teaming together to offer the service to surrounding counties.
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Columbus State Partnering with Reynoldsburg Schools
Columbus - Reynoldsburg students will soon be able to take Columbus State Community College courses at their high school and possibly earn a two-year associate degree along with their diploma, officials said last night.
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Sharing Services an Idea that's Spreading
Marietta - In these tough economic times- especially for public school districts in Ohio- the idea of sharing services grows appealing.
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Butler County Educational Service Awarded Grant
on Shared Services
Hamilton - The Butler County Educational Service Center will share in a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Education to implement new shared services programs that could be a model for Ohio’s 614 school districts.
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Editorial: Just Consolidate
The Akron Beacon Journal advocates for combining dispatching operations in Northeast Ohio to reduce costs and inefficiencies for local governments.
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Centralized Purchasing Saves County Tens Of Thousands
Hamilton — Butler County has saved nearly $650,000 on contracts for the next three years, a direct result of re-establishing and filling a central purchasing position...
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Performance Audit of the City of Mansfield Released Today - More than $3 Million in Savings Recommended
Columbus - Potential recurring savings of more than $3 million were recommended in the performance audit of the City of Mansfield released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost...
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Parma Heights Sign Agreement To Share Safety Services
Parma - “This is without a doubt a win-win scenario for the two cities,” DePiero said. “More importantly, it’s a win-win for the residents of our communities who deserve the best available emergency safety services. This is a giant step in that direction.”...
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Group Purchasing Could Lower Utility Bills, Officials Told Flag City Auto Wash
Findlay officials are exploring the idea of “aggregation,” or group purchasing, to save on electric and natural gas rates...
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Residents Win with Joint District
Community leaders in Liberty, Girard, Hubbard, Vienna, Coitsville and the Trumbull County 911 emergency call center are on the right track by talking about forming a joint fire district...
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Summit May Consolidate Local Road Paving Projects
Summit County is experimenting with a project that consolidates paving projects for townships and municipalities in search of lower bids....
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Salem Takes Steps Toward Performance Audit
Salem - Concerned about the city's finances, members of council's finance committee will have the auditor's office begin filling out paperwork to apply for a performance audit loan through the state of Ohio....
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Sharing May Save Edgewood Schools $1.5 Million
Edgewood City Schools stands to save about $1.5 million through an increased partnership with the Butler County Educational Service Center, the elimination of more than 10 positions before next year, and its district realignment...
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skinnyOhio.org Resources
The Local Government Toolkit provides templates, checklists, sample agreements and other resources.
The Shared Services Idea Center gives examples of how governments, school systems and other community organizations in Ohio are working together to save money.
The Performance Audit Database is a searchable database of performance audits conducted by the Auditor of State’s office.