Community Collaboration

Published: 5/12/2004

One of the recommendations of the Pittsford Community Forum, held in 2001, was to look for opportunities for increased collaboration and communication among the town, village and school district. To accomplish this, it was suggested that there were the three following components, each vitally important:

* The Town Supervisor, Village Mayor, and School Superintendent should meet on a regular basis to coordinate efforts with facilities and future needs.

* Representatives of the town and village government should determine where there are overlapping services and look to consolidate, or hire an independent consultant to make these recommendations.

* The town, school, and village boards should come together and present a single vision statement of Pittsford's future. A shared and coordinated vision of our future is key to a vibrant future.

In response to this recommendation, representatives of the Town, School and Village formed a Leadership Committee which has been meeting on a monthly basis since September 2001. This provides an on-going forum for discussion of overall activities and issues in the community. Notes from these meetings are posted on the community Web sites and are available for your review.

Over the years there has been a long history of cooperation between the Town, School and Village. Examples include emergency preparedness, community celebrations, cable access television, community library, shared athletic fields, gyms & pools, school crossing guards, Pittsford Youth Services, School Community Partnership Council, animal control, court, planning for the Erie Canal, engineering support, equipment sharing, yard debris recycling, public works services and communications.

Since its inception, the Leadership Committee has worked on a number of cooperative and collaborative efforts including the Village's Comprehensive Plan, the School District's facility improvements, and the Town's plan for a new Library. Work has also been accomplished in meeting with community athletic groups to review current and future needs for athletic fields. Recently the Leadership Team has partnered with the Fire District and Pittsford Ambulance to undertake a needs assessment for the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) with the intended purpose of streamlining the inter-municipal activities required to make this computer application efficient.

Another activity that the Leadership Committee has undertaken is to bring all members of all boards together to brainstorm ways to improve the relationships between the Town, School, and Village. Many ideas were presented and discussed in working sessions leading to the development of a Collaboration Compact which was adopted by a formal resolution at a joint public meeting of all three boards held on April 29, 2003. The resolution proclaims the partnership and commitment between the three entities and the guiding principles under which the Leadership would operate.

One aspect of the Collaboration agreement is the Mission Statement that reads as follows:

We are a team of Pittsford officials from the Town, Village and School District who provide leadership and vision. Our shared mission is the betterment of all who live, work, play and learn in the Pittsford community. We will accomplish our mission by: 1) Engaging our residents in a continuos dialogue by working collaboratively for the common good; 2) Representing the views of our individual constituencies; and 3) Facilitating consensus among our three boards.

The Collaboration Compact also identifies guiding principles which the three boards have pledged to follow as they work both individually and collectively. These are as follows

Partnerships - Reach out to the other boards, learn about the issues and priorities of each board and determine how to support each other through collaboration.

Communication - Create open, complete communication by listening, learning about, and striving to understand the different roles and positions of the other boards and their members.

Decision-making - Provide consistency in process and decisions and work together to provide consensus for our common publics.

Professionalism - Be available and flexible, look for and build upon interdependencies while displaying ethical, courteous, civil and honest behaviors.

Since becoming Supervisor, I am proud of my record and achievements in the area of inter-municipal collaboration. While there are a number of entities providing specific services to the community, the bottom line is that we all serve the same customer.

My commitment to inter-municipal cooperation is strong since I believe it is our responsibility to provide services to you, the residents of the community, as efficiently as possible. What we have created with the Collaboration Compact is unique and I believe can serve as a model for other communities.

For further information about the Collaboration Compact and the Leadership Team please visit the town Web site at www.townofpittsford.org.

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