Understanding
Intergovernmental Relations
Alan W. Kemp
Executive Director
Dustin Miller
Government Affairs Manager
Opportunities for
Intergovernmental Relations
• Intergovernmental Relations Occur
• Vertically – Federalist System
• Laterally – Political Subdivisions
• Spatially - Inter-organizational Relations
Federal Government
State Government
School
City
County
Opportunities for
Intergovernmental Relations
• Cooperation versus Collaboration
• Cooperation is a passive decision to
interact or comply - compliance with
mandates
• Collaboration is an active determination
to interact - decision to enter into 28E
agreement
Opportunities for
Intergovernmental Relations
• Regulations and Mandates
• Legislative Branch
• Executive Branch – Administrative
Agencies
• Judicial Branch
Opportunities for
Intergovernmental Relations
• Regulations and Mandates
• Legislative Branch - IPERS
• Executive Branch – City Budget Forms
• Judicial Branch – Franchise fee decision
Opportunities for
Intergovernmental Relations
• Reality- complex interaction of many
players
• Congress passed the Clean Water Act
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was directed to
promulgate rules directed at state environmental
agencies
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
determines rules in Iowa based on EPA guidance,
legislative policy and state-level administrative rules
• Environmental groups seek court interpretation of CWA
with direction to EPA which is then imparted to IDNR
Reasons to Collaborate with
Other Local Governments
• Effective Delivery of Services
• Improve existing service delivery
• Maintain service levels
• Retain service levels – survival
• Obtain specialized services
• Comply with federal & state mandates
Reasons to Collaborate with
Other Local Governments
• Efficiency of Services Delivery
• Reduce costs
• Maintain costs
• Mitigate increasing costs
• Enhance managerial capacity
• Hire and retain quality workforce
Reasons to Collaborate with
Other Local Governments
• Forces pushing for regionalization
and service sharing
• Federal government – i.e. Homeland
Security
• State Government – i.e. Flood Plain
Management
• Economic Forces
Reasons to Collaborate with
Other Local Governments
• Collaboration and Public Networks
• Cities determine whether or not to pursue
collaborative projects
• Cities, along with other governmental
entities and non-governmental
organizational entities, operate in a
network or a web of relations
• City may collaborate as trade-off for future
benefits on other projects.
• Various models of collaborative
management
Models of Collaborative Management
Active
Jurisdiction-based
Collaborative Activity
Donor-recipient
Top-down
Reactive
Contented
Abstinence
Inactive
Passive
Opportunistic
Collaborative Strategy
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Need to develop a joint
understanding of the problem
• Problems addressed through
collaboration do not need to be identical
for each partner
• Collaboration does need to provide
some kind of benefit to parties involved
• Benefits can be actual or perceived
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Need to develop a joint
understanding of the possible
solution
• Identification of problem is first part of
equation
• Collaborative solution needs to satisfy
the parties involved in the manner they
expect
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Negotiate an agreement to share
responsibilities and costs
• Role of the written agreement is to
memorialize the determination of the
partners’ responsibilities and costs
• See Attachment B – 28E Agreement
Checklist
• See also the 28E website https://www.sos.state.ia.us/28E
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Determine a management structure
• This is vital if the collaboration creates a
governmental entity
• The structure needs to address
• Governance
• Financial obligations
• Liability issues
• Termination procedures
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Bring other interests into the
agreement
• Intergovernmental collaboration has
impacts beyond policy makers
• Staff is impacted by change in operations
• Operational culture of collaborating
organizations can have impact
• Agreements impact citizens – agreement
may make perfect sense to everyone but
the citizen
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Agree to methods of evaluation
• How do you know that the collaborative
arrangement is working?
• Are there measurements of success or
expected outcomes?
Challenges to Intergovernmental
Collaboration
• Agree to address changes which may
occur over time.
• Determine an “exit strategy”
Unique area of Intergovernmental
Relations
• Participation in legislative and
regulatory process
• Who represents city interests?
• Iowa League of Cities
• Some cities have their own city lobbyists
• Some cities are part of regional groups –
such as NW Iowa League, MAC, Metro
Coalition, etc…
• Variety of intergovernmental groups
represent some aspects of cities issues
• Other Groups - Chamber of Commerce
League of Cities –
Legislative/Regulatory
• One staff lobbyist – Dustin Miller
• Fiscal Analyst – Erin Mullenix
• Legal Counsel – Terry Timmins &
Bruce Bergman
• One contract lobbyist – Jessica
Harder
League Legislative Team:
What do we do
• Track all Legislation and Amendments
and review to determine impact on
cities
• Attend meetings to represent interests
of cities
• Work to form alliances and cooperate
with ALL interests who share the same
position on an issue
• ex. Open Meetings/Records, Competitive Bid
Issues - Counties, Schools, Regents, Hospitals,
Rural Water, Municipal Utilities
Iowa Legislative process:
Current Political Makeup
• House of Representatives
• 53 Republicans
• 47 Democrats
• Senate
• 26 Democrats
• 24 Republicans
• Governor Terry Branstad (R)
Iowa Legislative Process
• How A Bill Becomes A Law - Flow chart
makes it sound SO logical – a bill goes
from here to there
Iowa Legislative Process:
Reality
• Very few bills actually become law – 2009
session – 2,043 bills were introduced, but
ONLY 184 were actually passed.
• That means that only 9% of the bills that were
introduced were actually passed and became
law - .090%
• Of those bills, 12 were appropriations-related
legislation that pass every session. So, if you
eliminate those - .084% of other legislative
ideas actually passed.
• Amendments are an important part of the
process – 3,193 were drafted and 1,149 were
filed
Iowa Legislative Process:
Difficulty of Passing a Bill
• The system we operate within is set up
so that bills DON’T pass
• It is much easier to kill a bill than to
pass one
• At every step along the way there are
obstacles, both overt and hidden
• Key is to have a legislative champion to
work on the inside to support the issue and
to have a STRONG collaborative group
working for passage and to KNOW the
process.
Iowa Legislative Process:
Citizen Legislators
• Part-time
• Varied backgrounds
• 3+ month time period with 100s of
bills
• Committee assignments
• Committee staff
Iowa Legislative Process:
How A Bill Becomes A Law
•
First a bill must be sponsored by a Legislator or Committee
•
Drafted by nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency
•
Filed by legislator as a H.F./S.F. or HSB/SSB
•
Assigned a Subcommittee
•
Subcommittee Hearing
•
Pass Subcommittee – 3/5/7 members – apptd by Chair
•
Brought up and pass Committee – usually 21 members in
House and 15 in Senate – need majority of Committee to pass
a bill, only a majority of those present to pass an amendment
Iowa Legislative Process:
How A Bill Becomes A Law
• Pass floor – must be placed on debate
calendar and receive Constitutional
majority to pass
• need 26 in the Senate and 51 in the House
- don’t need 150 people
• amendments need a majority of those
present
• Message to other Chamber and do it all
again
• Conference Committee
Obstacles
• At every step along this route, there
are obstacles to overcome and hidden
ways in which a bill can die – there is
so much process to the process
• Back rooms and closed discussions – say
•
•
•
•
one thing and do another
Not all legislators have same ability, clout
Schedule and rules – funnels
Drafted wrong
Poison Pill Amendment
Iowa Legislative Process
How can YOU work
collaboratively with us?
•
Stay Informed – weekly Legislative Link and Action Calls
•
Attend legislative meetings sponsored by League or other
groups to keep you updated
•
Attend forums with your legislators – ask questions
•
Develop a relationship with your legislators NOW – they are
elected to serve the public and cities are an important
constituency for them
•
If there is someone you think would be good – help them get
elected – yard signs, host a fundraiser, $$
Senator for Newton
Dennis Black (D)
Standing Committee Assignments
Agriculture
Appropriations
Natural Resources and Environment (Vice
Chair)
Veterans Affairs
Ways and Means
Time in Legislature
Senator Since 1995 Rep from 1983 to 1995
Background
Retired conservationist. Resides in Grinnell. Received B.S. in forest
management and M.S. in natural resource economics from Utah State
University. Member of Izaak Walton League, Iowa Sister State Taiwan
Committee, Jasper Community Foundation Board of Directors. Same barber
as Dustin Miller.
Representative for Newton
Dan Kelley (D)
Standing Committee Assignments
Agriculture
Environmental Protection
Ways and Means
Time in Legislature
Member Since 2011
Background
Profession: Realtor, owner and operator of Dan Kelley D. J. Service. Education:
Received B.A. with honors in communications studies from the University of
Iowa. Memberships and Activities: Served as president of Newton Board of
realtors; 2007 Newton Board of Realtors; executive board of directors, Newton
Housing and Development Corporation; Board member Newton Chamber of
Commerce. Birth and Residence: Born in 1970 in Marshalltown. Raised and
resides in Newton.
Senators for Urbandale
Jake Chapman (R)
Standing Committee Assignments
Commerce
Economic Growth (Ranking Member)
Labor and Business Relations
State Government
Ways and Means
Brad Zaun (R)
Standing Committee Assignments
Education
Judiciary
Local Government
Representatives for Urbandale
John Forbes (D)
Standing Committee Assignments
Commerce
Local Government
Transportation
Ways and Means
Jake Highfill (R)
Ralph Watts (R)
Standing Committee Assignments
Appropriations
Local Government
Natural Resources
State Government (Vice Chair)
Standing Committee Assignments
Appropriations
Commerce
Labor
State Government
COMMUNICATE
• Most important thing you can do
during session is communicate with
us to let us know what you are
hearing in your community
• Dustin Miller
• dustinmiller@iowaleague.org
• (515)883-0925
QUESTIONS?