Governments of Fayette's cities, the county and the Board of Education are ready to submit a joint service delivery strategy to the state Department of Community Affairs.

The state legislature voted in its 1997 session to require local governments to study the services they provide, eliminate duplication wherever possible and find ways to cooperate to save taxpayers' money.

Fayette governments already had begun working on the problem through the FUTURE (Fayette United Team to Use Resources Efficiently), and have hammered out agreements on joint purchasing, sharing of gas and maintenance costs for fleet vehicles, cooperation among public works departments and resolution of disputes over annexation.

The County Commission approved those agreements last Thursday, and Fayetteville approved all but the annexation agreement Monday with plans to handle the annexation portion in two weeks. Other governments are expected to approve the agreements for submittal in advance of the July 1 state deadline, but the local governments are filing for a 90-day extension on that deadline anyway.