Town and county set yearlong schedule to review joint powers agreements; staff to analyze alternatives

The Town of Jackson and Teton County jointly directed staff to begin a structured review of joint powers agreements, memorandums of understanding and other cooperative arrangements and to return with analysis of reasonable alternatives and recommendations for each joint department.

At the July 7 meeting, town and county staff proposed a schedule that would run through the next year and address joint fire and emergency medical services first (August–October), followed by parks and recreation (November–January), then transportation and pathways (February–April) and housing and planning (May–June). Remaining items (dispatch, treatment court, animal shelter, victim services) would be scheduled afterward if more time is needed. The boards approved the schedule and asked staff to prepare staff reports that include current funding arrangements, five years of financials, governance alternatives and recommended options.

Tyler Sinclair, Town Manager, and Jody Pond, County Administrator, presented the timeline and said a recent joint funding task force had explored options but did not reach a final recommendation. Pond said the boards had already funded a consultant study for fire/EMS (Emergency Services Consulting International) and that consultant will present draft recommendations in August. Staff said some joint efforts include formal joint powers agreements (for example Fire/EMS and parks), while others operate under memoranda of understanding or limited agreements, and several functions operate with no formal guiding document.

The motion approved by both bodies directs staff to produce staff reports for each joint service area that include: a description of the service, pros and cons of the current cooperative arrangement, current funding and capital obligations, recent financials, alternative governance and funding options and recommended approaches. The motion also called for a joint update after the fire/EMS review is complete this fall.

Commissioners and councilors raised several themes during discussion: whether a single funding split (the town and county have agreed to transition to a 62% county / 38% town funding split by July 1, 2027) should be applied across departments; whether department-specific governance options (for example, contracts for service, independent authorities, or continued joint governance) should be evaluated; what role volunteer advisory boards should have; and what outside expertise might be useful for complex areas such as parks, transportation and START transit where grants and federal funding add complexity.

Commissioner MacKer and others emphasized that, regardless of final allocations, clarifying governance and operational roles can improve efficiency; several council members requested waiver or scaled approaches where staff believes small businesses or limited change-of-use activity could be treated differently. Staff will include requested materials in the staff reports and return to a joint meeting after the fall fire/EMS review to check progress and next steps.