Leveraging service capacity, if done smartly, can be an effective way to improve service delivery and save money with little to no additional investment in resources.  For the first time, under Section 331 of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act military installations and local governments have statutory authority allowing them to enter into agreements for “installation support services.”  This act allows for a variety of intergovernmental support agreements including arrangements in which a local government provides municipal services to a neighboring defense installation.

The best example of this type of collaboration is the longstanding partnership between the City of Monterey, California and the U.S. Army.  The partnership began as a pilot program under a special congressional authority.  The City of Monterey has an agreement with the Presidio of Monterey to provide facility maintenance, including maintaining buildings, roads, the sewer and electrical system, and heating and air conditioning.  City staff has documented the savings to the Army, the consistent improvement in services, and the benefits to the City of Monterey since the inception of the partnership.  The City of Monterey staff have presented their approach and results at ICMA Conferences, at Association of Defense Communities (ADC) conferences, as well as at annual free workshops that they conduct in Monterey to teach interested parties how to make these agreements work in their communities.   

According to ADC’s read of the authorization, section 331 is even broader than the partnership in Monterey, allowing the military and local government to share support services or for the installation to provide services to the community. And unlike the Monterey authority, it does not limit the kinds of installation support services the two entities can exchange, with one exception. The language prohibits the exchange of security guard or firefighter functions.

On June 18 and 19, the Association of Defense Communities will hold their 2013 Defense Communities National Summit in Washington, DC.  This three-day event will bring together hundreds of leaders from communities, states, military and industry to:

• Focus attention on the issues of defense communities and military installations with policymakers in DoD, Congress and the Administration.
• Provide an opportunity for policymakers to brief attendees on key issues impacting defense communities and installations.
• Create a venue to bring together leaders from the military, communities, states and industry to encourage interaction and share best practices.
• Offer educational/training opportunities around topics in five issue areas one of which is the Section 331 authorization.

The Summit is a great opportunity to learn more about how to leverage this opportunity for communities with neighboring defense installations as well as learn about how changes in the current defense climate may impact local economies.  For more information on the 2013 Defense Communities National Summit visit http://www.defensecommunities.org/conferences-events/2013-defense-communities-national-summit/welcome/.