Often on the news and editorial pages of the Tallahassee Democrat, we read about the City and County’s inability to work together on issues that are important to our citizenry. Contrary to popular belief, the City and County have a long standing history of collaborating on issues to the benefit of our citizens. However, these instances often fail to be emphasized in newsprint. The issue of tipping fees for solid waste services is a prime example.

On Wednesday, May 26, the City Commission voted unanimously to conceptually approve a proposal that would resolve the disagreement over tipping fees and provide for the City to remain a customer of County solid waste services. That vote typifies the spirit of collaboration that exists between the City and County to provide the most efficient and cost-effective services possible to Tallahassee/Leon County residents. Before we were able to come to this agreement, news stories often highlighted the disagreement between the two governmental bodies. However, when an agreement was reached, the story was buried deep in news broadcasts and inside the local section of the newspaper. It appears that only rifts and conflict make the headlines.

Due to the inherent philosophical differences between Cities and Counties, there is, and always will be, some level of conflict between the two bodies. The differences are driven by the statutorily-mandated responsibilities of Counties versus the responsibilities put in place by Cities’ charters. If Counties govern consistently with Florida Statutes, while Cities govern consistently with their charters, some conflicts are inevitable. Conflict is not always bad or wrong, it is simply the nature of checks and balances upon which our democracy is built.

Cities and Counties both serve competing and sometimes conflicting constituents. Many conflicts revolve around the use of City or County resources.For example, consistent with Florida Statutes, Counties must maintain and operate County jails. Although most of the offenders housed in the Leon County Jail are placed there by City of Tallahassee Police, Leon County spends approximately $15 million annually to operate the jail. This leaves the City with resources that can be applied elsewhere to address other needs.

Our only alternative to constant stalemates is the willingness to work through these issues cooperatively to increase the quality of life for the citizens of our local government. And we continue to do that. For example, as we have grown as a community and have strived to promote good development and provide viable infrastructure, we have and continue to struggle with the growing pains of stormwater runoff and flooding. For too long, we have reacted to this problem from within our respective jurisdictions. The problem is, as many have said, that water knows no jurisdiction. The City has reacted to urban flooding and focused resources on moving water out of the City. The County has naturally reacted to the subsequent stormwater runoff and focused resources on protecting our natural lakes and vital groundwater. While the focus of both City and County has been to protect the quality of life in this community, our historic lack of coordination in this effort has been one that has troubled me the most.

This example represents one of our most inherent conflicts. However, even with this issue, efforts to modify our procedures for dealing with the problems of flooding and stormwater are underway. Recommendations for holistic watershed planning were recently made by the Economic and Environmental Consensus Committee (EECC), a citizen’s group composed a broad spectrum of neighborhood, community and business representatives which presented a report on the need for the one-cent sales tax extension. This initiative represents an important first step in our ability to work together on this issue.

Other examples of recent cooperative efforts include:

• The Southwood DRI - Which was so huge that it took staffs from both the City and County’s Growth Management Departments, and the Planning Department to coordinate a joint review process that identified the mitigation required for the project’s environmental, infrastructure and related impacts such as affordable housing, schools, and fire and police services. Together, a final development order was adopted.

• Parks and Recreation Agreement - Which was negotiated to provide unincorporated area residents with parks and recreational programs that were closer to their neighborhoods without harming the City’s program. The end result is that the County now has a program that complements the City’s.

• Northeast Fire Station - Which was an agreement that allowed the City and County to share the cost of providing a new fire station that protects bordering northeast City and County residents from fires. This joint agreement was done in enough time to prevent increased insurance costs for residents (a low Insurance Service Office [ISO] rating).

• Electric Utility Agreement - Which is currently being negotiated to ensure that the County will remain a City utility customer in the event of deregulation. This will allow the City to benefit from maintaining one of its largest customers, while the County and its taxpayers enjoy the lowest possible rates.

• 800 Megahertz Agreement - Which was negotiated and is in the process of being signed to allow the County to buy into the City’s system to allow for effective communication between the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department.

These are all issues that took negotiations and a willingness to work together to better serve Tallahassee/Leon County residents. Although our philosophical differences exist, both the Leon County Commission and the City Commission are committed to do what it takes to facilitate a high level of public service in Florida’s Capital. The differences will always be there for the City and County, but the commitment will remain as well.