As our Village government searches for cost savings in these difficult economic times, residents are open to sharing services with surrounding municipalities. Top targets for sharing include Health Services (77% favor sharing), Building Inspection (73%), Municipal Court (69%), Public Works (66%), and Senior Services (65%).  

As residents stay in Shorewood longer, they become more and more open to sharing services.  Eight in ten (81%) of residents who have lived in Shorewood 16 or more years favor sharing Health Services, and 74% favor sharing Municipal Court Services.  Among newer residents (5 years or less in Shorewood), these numbers are 72% and 60%, respectively.  In many cases, newer residents and renters have no opinion on sharing services, since a renter is unlike to interact with Building Inspection or the DPW, for instance. 

Grabbing the third rail of Shorewood politics, Library Services, 58% favor a sharing arrangement, including 64% of homeowners.   Interest in sharing library services increases among longer term residents, from 56% of newer residents (< 5 yrs) in favor of sharing, to 62% among long term residents (16 yrs+).   While these numbers are lower than those who favor sharing Health Services and Municipal Court, they are still surprisingly high, given the battles we went through to get our current Library built.