WHO IS ELIGIBLE TO JOIN NEOSO?
Any political subdivision in Northeast Ohio is eligible to join NEOSO, including municipalities, counties, special districts, school districts and publicly funded colleges. Northeast Ohio is defined as the 13-county area including Ashtabula, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Mahoning, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Trumbull and Wayne counties.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO JOIN NEOSO?
Currently, NEOSO does not charge a membership fee. Instead, we have developed a pay-to-play model. NEOSO generates revenue to cover the cost of our operations when you, as one of our Members, decide to take advantage of a product or service we offer. It is our responsibility to put together offerings that are compelling and provide value to our Members.
HOW DOES A LOCAL GOVERNMENT JOIN NEOSO?
NEOSO has developed a legal framework to establish a relationship between NEOSO and each individual member. All of the documents that are required to formalize the relationship are available to potential Members upon request. Contact Us to request the Membership documents.
There are five key documents. Collectively, these documents represent formation documents for a Member to join NEOSO.
- Authorizing Legislation Template
- NEOSO's Code of Regulations
- The Membership Agreement
- The Master Services and Consulting Agreement
- The Master Product Agreement
STEP 1: LEGISLATION
In order to become a member of NEOSO, a political subdivision must adopt NEOSO's Code of Regulations. The Code of Regulations governs NEOSO's corporate operations. In addition, the Code of Regulations provides for a Board of Directors to oversee NEOSO's operations on behalf of the Members.
We have developed a draft of the Authorizing Legislation for potential Members to complete (with the Member name, ordinance number, etc.) and use to ratify the Code of Regulations. The Authorizing Legislation also contains language authorizing and directing the Member's executive to enter into the Membership Agreement, the Master Services and Consulting Agreement, and the Master Products Agreement, all of which are necessary to begin utilizing NEOSO's offerings.
STEP 2: AGREEMENTS
Each political subdivision must also enter into the Membership Agreement with NEOSO. The Membership Agreement outlines the relationship between NEOSO and its Members, and sets forth the terms and conditions of membership and participation. The Membership Agreement outlines the respective obligations and duties of each Member and of NEOSO.
NEOSO primarily focuses on making a variety of products and various types of services (including shared, professional and consulting services) available to the Members under favorable financial terms. The Master Products Agreement and Master Services and Consulting Agreement provide the legal mechanism that enables Members to utilize those offerings. These documents detail specific terms and conditions that are generally applicable to the acquisition of products and services through contracts negotiated, procured and managed by NEOSO.
STEP 3: UTILIZING NEOSO OFFERINGS
NEOSO's mission is to identify, investigate and pursue opportunities to create leverage and contain operating costs by offering various products and services to Members. As each offering is developed and the relationship with the vendors or service provider is finalized and approved by NEOSO's board, the offering will be made available to the Members. At their own discretion, Members simply have the opportunity to choose which offerings, if any, they desire to utilize.
Once a member chooses to utilize an offering, NEOSO will generate an agreement outlining the specific terms, conditions and pricing for that offering (the "Offering Addendum"). Both NEOSO and the Member will execute the Offering Addendum, which will be incorporated into the Master Product Agreement or the Master Services and Consulting Agreement as appropriate. The offering Addendum is also incorporated into the contract with the vendor or service provider.
Please contact Terry Vincent, NEOSO's Legal Counsel, with any questions about these documents or the process for joining NEOSO. Mr. Vincent can be reached by phone at 216-615-7326.
The following diagram illustrates the contractual relationships between the parties:
relationship between NEOSO, Vendors and Members
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NEOSO'S job is to
systematically create leverage
for local governments on an ongoing basis by identifying leverage opportunities and developing offerings to
capitalize on those
opportunities.
LEVERAGE MANIFESTS itself IN THREE CRITICAL WAYS:
Aggregating demand
for
products and services leads to
cost savings.
Implementing sound business practices
as shared services
across
multiple communities
avoids future costs.
Augmenting existing local government staff
with
specialized NEOSO expertise
as
needed through shared
services
increases operating
capacity.
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