Document Type

Report

Publication Date

5-9-2025

Abstract

This report explores collaboration among local governments in Cuyahoga County using a survey of municipal and township officials, primarily mayors. The survey was fielded in late 2024 through a partnership between the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs and the Cuyahoga County Department of Regional Collaboration and follows up on a similar survey fielded by Levin in 2018. This report summarizes findings of the survey. The report examines the extent to which municipalities in the County were collaborating with various types of external partners, including the County, other municipalities, nonprofits, and private organizations. The vast majority of respondents reported collaborating — most frequently, with the County and other local governments. The report also explores how partnerships varied across distinct functional areas of service delivery, such as finance and budgeting, land use planning, and senior services, and it assessed collaboration levels across functional areas. Two-thirds of responding communities reported collaborating in four or more functional service areas. Finally, it assessed municipal experiences with collaboration, finding that municipal leaders generally reported high levels of satisfaction with collaborative arrangements and were interested in more collaboration. However, they reported that attachment to local control and lack of resources to convene and facilitate collaboration often prevent more partnerships from occurring.

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