However, local governments are certainly encouraged to include such services where there may be opportunities to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness of these local government services provided within the county. The Strategy must indicate which local government or authority will provide each service, the geographic areas of the county in which each service will be provided and a description of any services to be provided by any local government to any area outside of its geographical boundaries. If two or more local governments within the same county are assigned responsibility for providing identical services within the same geographic area, the Strategy must include an explanation of this arrangement. This component of the Strategy should identify which local governments and authorities will provide which services in which areas of the county after the Strategy is adopted and implemented. While the law does not require that a map be included as a part of the Strategy, maps may be the easiest and most reliable way to delineate service areas.
Maps are particularly helpful when a county or city provides a service extraterritorially.
The law does not preclude cities and counties from offering the same services, but it does encourage local governments to take advantage of this planning process to provide services in the most efficient manner possible. In some cases, service consolidation will make sense and in other cases it will not. One example which would fit this description is where two jurisdictions run parallel water and sewer lines through the same area of the county. Local governments should provide a rationale for continuing any duplicative services, stating any overriding benefits or insurmountable problems that support continuing the arrangement. Examples are pre-existing contracts and ongoing facility financing arrangements that cannot be changed.