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 APPLY NOW
Local governments can apply to receive funding to stimulate efficiency, collaboration, shared services and mergers.
Sponsored by the Ohio Department of Development

Shared Services in the News

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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The Local Government Toolkit and the Performance Audit Database