Committee discusses reviving city–county ad hoc group to coordinate comprehensive plan and shared services

Members of the Executive Finance Committee reviewed sections of the county comprehensive plan related to land use, intergovernmental cooperation and economic development and recommended restoring a previously active city–county ad hoc committee.

Supervisor Severson and others said the committee would provide a regular forum for the county, city and other taxing jurisdictions to talk through shared priorities such as roads, public safety and facility planning rather than waiting for issues to reach crisis points. "We need to go back to that — regular meetings between the city and county," Severson said, noting earlier reorganizations had allowed the group to lapse.

Committee members observed that overlapping capital and levy requests (for example, ambulance funding, school district referenda and municipal building projects) can cascade through local budgets and that earlier intergovernmental communication would allow more deliberate planning. Supervisors discussed potential participants (city council, school districts, townships) and suggested returning a proposal to the full committee in January on membership and scope.

No formal action or permanent committee appointments were made at the Oct. 28 meeting; members directed staff to place the item on the Nov. 11 agenda for further discussion and suggested circulating a survey of county-board members in December to refine objectives and membership.