The City of Redmond, with a population of about 60,000, had more than half of its 300 employees housed in office spaces across the city, costing it more than $500,000 a year. In 2002, the city decided to centralize its workers in a new city hall.

In 1994, Boyertown, a small borough 45 miles outside of Philadelphia, faced the retirement the only manager its wastewater plant had ever had. Finding someone with his institutional, technical and regulatory knowledge would not be easy for this town of about 4,000 residents. Boyertown’s leadership opted for a more cost-effective – solution.