Recommended Citation
Hugh Spitzer, Organizing Interlocal Entities: What Form Is Best . . . and Does the Interlocal Cooperation Act Need a Rewrite?, in Proceedings of the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys, Spring Conference (2013)
Publication Title
Proceedings of the Washington State Association of Municipal Attorneys Spring Conference 2013
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Intergovernmental cooperation is a generally-accepted approach to cooperative service delivery by Washington state and local agencies. Most municipal lawyers are involved from time to time in negotiating interlocal agreements and forming intergovernmental entities to assist municipalities in carrying out their responsibilities on a cooperative basis. There are a large number of legal tools available for interlocal arrangements. This paper focuses on several specific structural questions relating to intergovernmental entities:
- Sources of authority, and when and when not to use the Interlocal Cooperation Act (Ch. 39.34 RCW).
- When using the Interlocal Cooperation Act, what type of separate entity (if any) to form for an intergovernmental activity.
- What’s wrong with the Interlocal Cooperation Act.
- The “joint authority” alternative to the Interlocal Cooperation Act.
- Whether the Interlocal Cooperation Act should be overhauled or replaced.