Local officials are responsible for providing and maintaining capital assets and infrastructure within their jurisdiction. In order to fulfill this responsiblity, local officials need to develop a long-term capital plan to manage their assets adequately and efficiently. The plan should be linked to periodic needs assessment (what we need) and the budgetary process (what we can afford). This session will focus on the steps to strategically develop and maintain a capital plan in accordance with the municipality's comprehensive plan. In addition, strategies and leadership skills will be discussed for maintaining your comprehensive and capital plans as functional documents.

In this session, panelists will discuss the reasons why they entered into inter-municipal agreements with other governmental entities. Panelists will discuss the process, the problems, and the actual savings achieved.

Municipalities need to work with the private sector to promote economic development during these difficult fiscal times and link economic development to a comprehensive plan.

Discussion will focus on the essential components in building successful public and private partnerships. The discussion will also examine the importance of interpersonal networking and methods of addressing regional problems through economic development. The panelists will include individuals who can present case studies on examples of successful partnerships.