Applied Economics – �鶹��Ƶ

Insights into Municipal and Cooperative Internet

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:36:42 +0000

Monroe Redevelopment Authority has identified 7 sites that would be ideal for
redevelopment. These seven sights are primarily owned by the city and are currently
under used or entirely vacant lots. All 7 sites would be ideal for either residential
development, commercial development, or mixed use.
The primary goals of redevelopment in these areas are to increase the amount of
affordable housing for the community, and spur economic growth by encouraging new
business growth in the historic downtown of Monroe. The recommendations below will
provide a means by which the community can:
1. Increase the amount of affordable housing by incentivizing residential developers
to build in Monroe
2. Facilitate entrepreneurs and spur economic growth through new business
opportunities
3. Maintain the community culture and Historic sense of place that Monroe has
today

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Jeremy Foltz
Agricultural and Applied Economics

jdfoltz@wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Scott Anderson
City of Monroe
Teacher at Juda School

Cost-Benefit Anaylsis of 911 Call Center Consolidation

Victor Manzanilla — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 03:35:06 +0000

As the link between residents and first responders, the 9-1-1 call centers in Green County,
the City of Monroe, and the City of Brodhead serve a vital public safety function: the dispatchers
in these centers serve as the first line of communication for emergencies, and work closely with
law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) to ensure callers’ safety 24 hours
per day.1 The three call centers have varying capacities, staffing structures, and levels of service,
but they share a history and culture of cooperation.
The population of Green County, including the City of Monroe and City of Brodhead, is
marginally growing with an increasing number of elderly individuals living within the
community.2 See Appendix 2 for details. This trend suggests that call volume in the county and
cities could increase in coming years. Consequently, maintaining capacity to support growing
call volume is a potential challenge for the call centers. One option to increase capacity while
controlling costs is to consolidate the call centers.3
Our clients’ primary motivation for this project is to determine whether 9-1-1 dispatch
consolidation is fiscally feasible. The clients are also interested in understanding how to best
improve the efficiency of operating 9-1-1 services. However, each of the call centers have their
reservations regarding the potential for consolidation and its implementation. Green County is
concerned that full consolidation would result in increased costs for the Sheriff’s Office after
absorbing the smaller city call centers. In addition, there are concerns in Monroe and Brodhead
about integrating into a larger operation and still successfully serving their smaller, tight-knit
1
“Green County Sheriff’s Office 2017 Annual Report” (Monroe, 2018).
2 United States Census Bureau, “Census.Gov,” accessed December 2, 2018, https://www.census.gov/.
3 Andrew Sancton, “Reducing Costs by Consolidating Municipalities: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario,”
Canadian Public Administration 39, no. 3 (1996): 267–89.
2
communities. Despite these concerns, the clients are interested in a cost-benefit analysis of policy
alternatives that assess the fiscal and social net benefits of consolidation.
This report seeks to produce a cost-benefit analysis of a possible 9-1-1 dispatch
consolidation between Green County, Monroe, and Brodhead. We provide the rationale for the
study, four consolidation alternatives, and the anticipated costs and benefits of consolidation. We
review the methodology for forecasting the net social benefits of the policy alternatives and
explain the technique utilized for the sensitivity analysis. To conclude, we provide a
recommendation to our clients based on the analysis.

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Dave Weimer
Public Affairs

weimer@lafollette.wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Sam Liebert

Assistant City Administor
sliebert@cityofmonroe.org

Farmers’ Cooperative Viability Assessment

Victor Manzanilla — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:27:27 +0000

This project was completed by this class as a part of the 2018-2019 UniverCity Year partnership with
Green County. Green County is the UniverCity Year partner for the 2017-2020 academic years. Local
government and community leaders have identified projects for faculty and students to work on. Green
County is located in South Central Wisconsin and is known for their rich agricultural history, pastoral
scenery, and small-town atmosphere.
Interest was shown in starting a cooperative for farmers in Green County. First, a survey was conducted
to see how many farmers were interested in being a part of a cooperative as well as what areas showed the
most interest. There were 30 responses to the survey, giving us a number of different data points. The
results of the survey showed that the majority of farmers were interested in cooperative that involved tool
sharing, labor sharing, and collective marketing. Based on the results of the survey, four different case
studies were conducted to see how other cooperatives are structured to meet the needs of their members.
These case studies were chosen because they provide services to their members that farmers in Green
County showed interest in based on the survey. These case studies give a foundation for Green County
farmers to build off of if they choose to create a cooperative. Conclusions were drawn that this
cooperative could start out by offering collective marketing tools to its members as well as selective tool
sharing. A labor sharing cooperative seems feasible but some decisions would have to be made about
structure for that cooperative.

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Courtney Berner
Agricultural and Applied Economics

cberner@wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Cara Carper

Head of Economic Development
cara.gcdc@tds.net

Cooperatives

Victor Manzanilla — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 23:26:30 +0000

This project was completed by this class as a part of the 2018-2019 UniverCity Year partnership with Green County. Green County is the UniverCity Year partner for the 2017-2020 academic years. Local
government and community leaders have identified projects for faculty and students to work on. Green
County is located in South Central Wisconsin and is known for their rich agricultural history, pastoral
scenery, and small-town atmosphere.
Interest was shown in starting a cooperative for farmers in Green County. First, a survey was conducted
to see how many farmers were interested in being a part of a cooperative as well as what areas showed the
most interest. There were 30 responses to the survey, giving us a number of different data points. The
results of the survey showed that the majority of farmers were interested in cooperative that involved tool
sharing, labor sharing, and collective marketing. Based on the results of the survey, four different case
studies were conducted to see how other cooperatives are structured to meet the needs of their members.
These case studies were chosen because they provide services to their members that farmers in Green
County showed interest in based on the survey. These case studies give a foundation for Green County
farmers to build off of if they choose to create a cooperative. Conclusions were drawn that this
cooperative could start out by offering collective marketing tools to its members as well as selective tool
sharing. A labor sharing cooperative seems feasible but some decisions would have to be made about
structure for that cooperative.

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Courtney Berner
Agricultural and Applied Economics

cberner@wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Cara Carper

Head of Economic Development
cara.gcdc@tds.net

Cooperatives

Ada Inman — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 18:02:31 +0000

Students in UW-Madison’s Agriculture and Applied Economics 323 studied different cooperative models across the country to spur ideas in Dane County about how this particular business model could address the concerns of access to affordable housing, child care, and food. The report is broken up into three sections: (1) affordable housing cooperatives, (2) child care cooperatives, and (3) food cooperatives. In each section, we offer case study examples of how communities across the United States are using these models to address these particular social concerns.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Anne Reynolds
Agricultural and Applied Economics

anne.reynolds@wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Ela Kakde

Executive Director, PAIDC
elaska75@gmail.com

Insights into Municipal and Cooperative Internet

Ada Inman — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 18:01:48 +0000

Research and report on municipal, city-wide Wi-Fi networks throughout the United States, including current and future trends. Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner. UniverCity Year Contact Info Gavin Luter Managing Director gavin@cows.org 608-261-1141 University Faculty Contact Anne Reynolds Agricultural and Applied Economics Executive Director anne.reynolds@wisc.edu Local Government / Community Contact [...]

Strategies for Infill Development in Monroe

Ada Inman — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 18:01:15 +0000

Monroe Redevelopment Authority has identified 7 sites that would be ideal for redevelopment. These seven sights are primarily owned by the city and are currently
under used or entirely vacant lots. All 7 sites would be ideal for either residential
development, commercial development, or mixed use.
The primary goals of redevelopment in these areas are to increase the amount of
affordable housing for the community, and spur economic growth by encouraging new
business growth in the historic downtown of Monroe. The recommendations below will
provide a means by which the community can:
1. Increase the amount of affordable housing by incentivizing residential developers
to build in Monroe
2. Facilitate entrepreneurs and spur economic growth through new business
opportunities
3. Maintain the community culture and Historic sense of place that Monroe has
today

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Jeremy Foltz
Agricultural and Applied Economics

jdfoltz@wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Scott Anderson
City of Monroe
Teacher at Juda School

Cost-Benefit Anaylsis of 911 Call Center Consolidation

Ada Inman — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 17:58:34 +0000

As the link between residents and first responders, the 9-1-1 call centers in Green County, the City of Monroe, and the City of Brodhead serve a vital public safety function: the dispatchers
in these centers serve as the first line of communication for emergencies, and work closely with
law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services (EMS) to ensure callers’ safety 24 hours
per day.1 The three call centers have varying capacities, staffing structures, and levels of service,
but they share a history and culture of cooperation.
The population of Green County, including the City of Monroe and City of Brodhead, is
marginally growing with an increasing number of elderly individuals living within the
community.2 See Appendix 2 for details. This trend suggests that call volume in the county and
cities could increase in coming years. Consequently, maintaining capacity to support growing
call volume is a potential challenge for the call centers. One option to increase capacity while
controlling costs is to consolidate the call centers.3
Our clients’ primary motivation for this project is to determine whether 9-1-1 dispatch
consolidation is fiscally feasible. The clients are also interested in understanding how to best
improve the efficiency of operating 9-1-1 services. However, each of the call centers have their
reservations regarding the potential for consolidation and its implementation. Green County is
concerned that full consolidation would result in increased costs for the Sheriff’s Office after
absorbing the smaller city call centers. In addition, there are concerns in Monroe and Brodhead
about integrating into a larger operation and still successfully serving their smaller, tight-knit
1
“Green County Sheriff’s Office 2017 Annual Report” (Monroe, 2018).
2 United States Census Bureau, “Census.Gov,” accessed December 2, 2018, https://www.census.gov/.
3 Andrew Sancton, “Reducing Costs by Consolidating Municipalities: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Ontario,”
Canadian Public Administration 39, no. 3 (1996): 267–89.
2
communities. Despite these concerns, the clients are interested in a cost-benefit analysis of policy
alternatives that assess the fiscal and social net benefits of consolidation.
This report seeks to produce a cost-benefit analysis of a possible 9-1-1 dispatch
consolidation between Green County, Monroe, and Brodhead. We provide the rationale for the
study, four consolidation alternatives, and the anticipated costs and benefits of consolidation. We
review the methodology for forecasting the net social benefits of the policy alternatives and
explain the technique utilized for the sensitivity analysis. To conclude, we provide a
recommendation to our clients based on the analysis.

Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.

UniverCity Year Contact Info
Gavin Luter
Managing Director
gavin@cows.org
608-261-1141

University Faculty Contact
Dave Weimer
Public Affairs

weimer@lafollette.wisc.edu

Local Government / Community Contact
Sam Liebert

Assistant City Administor
sliebert@cityofmonroe.org