The Local Government Innovation Fund, Grant and Loan Opportunities Alley Park October 4,

Objectives of Presentation As a follow-up to the September 2011 retreat, report on next steps for a feasibility study & report on other types of collaborations that have been successful Report on the loan application Seek input for a grant writing workshop or internal training in 2013 Seek ideas about future work with grants 2

Looking back to September 2011 Provided an update on HB 153, which outlined competitive grants and loans for local entities for collaborations and consolidations Reviewed how the Local Government Innovation Fund (LFI) Fund was codified in ORC Reflected on various types of collaborations and shared services 3

Set the stage for increased collaboration “In response to that state’s request for proposals in connection with the Local Government Innovation Fund, the work group will lead the drafting of narrative and budgetary proposals for a project(s) where the Board of Commissioners will serve as the lead applicant in collaboration with other political subdivisions, elected officials, and leaders.” 4

After much research & analysis… A proposal for an Advanced Innovative Management Solution (AIMS) was drafted Feasibility study Shared electronic document storage & retrieval system MUNIS partners Broad focus, scaled for other political subdivision Disaster recovery 5

Political subdivisions joined together for AIMS Fairfield County Historical Parks District Soil and Water Conservation Regional Planning Commission Department of Health Multi-County Juvenile Detention District City of Lancaster 6

A proposal was presented in a highly competitive environment 105 grant applications were received 41 grant applications were awarded Of which, 7 Boards of County Commissioners were the lead applicants The environment for grants continues to be highly competitive 7

Fairfield County was awarded a LGIF grant for the collaboration $96,688 (one time award) To produce a feasibility study for AIMS Contracting with a professional consultant (3SG) 8

Communication with AIMS is important Updates were provided during county roundtable meetings A kick-off meeting with political subdivisions was held in September 2012 One-on-one meetings are available (upon request) Departmental points of contact have been named Communication as the project unfolds is key Keeping the energy positive Core group: Carri, Beth S., David M., Randy C., Branden, & Mark C. 9

Next steps The Board of Commissioners signed the grant agreement with the state on Tuesday A contract with 3 SG will be let, probably within one month 3 SG representatives will begin meeting with departmental points of contact, by the end of the year The feasibility study will take written form The feasibility study will be used in drafting an interest free loan application to implement the study (up to $500,000) Any project implementation would come along with our request for proposals (competitive bidding) 10

Are there any questions… About AIMS or LGIF? 11

Collaborations of note… Volume pricing/discounts to Pickerington, Baltimore, Delaware, Groveport, County of Fairfield, and Lancaster (pooled purchasing power: water tank maintenance) Bringing business to the table as a group resulted in discounts, lower cost for professional services Level budgeting Set the stage for even more regional deals 12

Collaborations of note… Sourcing Office Co-production of services Shared employees Safe Havens “Visitation Center” grant Child Support grant (12 counties) CDBG Grant – Sugar Grove sanitary sewer replacement Agreements among entities 13

Leadership with grants Highly competitive environment, with the state and federal government Counties & many political subdivisions seek grants A suggestion was made to hold a workshop about seeking grants, for those who are new to grant writing or would like to develop additional perspectives about grants 14

Leadership with grants First quarter of 2013 – suggested time Are there ideas or additional suggestions for such a workshop? Are there ideas about needs associated with grant administration or acquisition? How might there be additional connections with other political subdivisions, such as townships, villages, and cities? 15

Ideas for collaboration… Think about what priorities county offices and other entities can work on together. There is a brainstorming session at the end of the conference today. 16

Contact Information Carri Brown 17