ABSTRACT
The overwhelming majority of states permit two or more local governments to join forces for the purpose of providing services or engaging in a cooperative venture. The older urban city simply annexed relevant parts of an adjacent, typically more rural, town to accommodate new development, and for all purposes the annexed land became a part of the city. The newly expanded city would then extend its existing utility and transportation systems, and its police, fire, and library services, into the annexed areas. State constitutions and laws have various approaches to interlocal agreements. A state might have several statutes that authorize interlocal agreements for assorted purposes, from enabling their use to provide a single type of service to permitting agreements to jointly provide any activity or service that the participating local governments are authorized to provide on their own. The use of interlocal cooperation has in some instances been enhanced by involving a state agency as a party to the agreement.
