Facing billion dollar budget deficits, the governors of neighboring states Wisconsin and Minnesota have agreed to explore ways to pool their resources. Gov. Jim Doyle and Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed executive orders this week that direct their state agencies and cabinets to report ideas for collaborating to the governors by Feb. 27.

The idea to pool resources began with a phone call from Minnesota’s Pawlenty, a Republican, to Doyle, a Democrat.  The governors said this initiative could include combining purchases of items like road salt and food for state facilities, sharing equipment like aircraft and warehouse space, and jointly providing functions such as call centers.

Collaboration between states like this is rare, but Doyle said a partnership like this is a natural fit for Wisconsin and Minnesota since they share similar geography, cultures, and heritage. They also already have a history of working together. Since 1968, the two have had a reciprocity agreement that allows students to attend public universities in the other state at in-state tuition rates.

Doyle suggested that the deal could save tens of millions of dollars over the coming years – a number that won’t even make a dent in the approximately $5 billion deficits both states have incurred. But Pawlenty said it will help “and it will also pave the way for a more efficient, more effective, more customer-friendly government in the future.”

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