This year marks the 10th anniversary of city-to-city partnerships in Bulgaria. A final Best Practices Symposium this summer will celebrate the program’s success and will take a look back at how far the communities and the country have come in the past 10 years.

The USAID-supported Technical Twinning Program was designed to provide technical assistance to Bulgarian municipalities by matching each Bulgarian participant with an American municipal twin to share expertise on technical and management issues. The goals of the program were to initiate economic and community development; improve local government operations; and increase community participation.

The USAID Technical Twinning, Resource Cities, and CityLinks programs implemented by the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and the Foundation for Local Government Reform (FLGR) had a tremendous impact on the cities in which they worked. Cities across the U.S. volunteered their staff and resources to provide technical assistance, humanitarian assistance, and share cultural experiences and camaraderie. The original three partnerships expanded to include nearly 40 Bulgarian municipalities and over 15 American cities including Duluth, MN, Durham, NC, Abington, PA, Brunswick, OH, Spokane, WA, Portage, MI, Auburn, AL, Charlottesville, VA, Winchester, VA, Kettering, OH. West Carrollton, OH, West Bend, WI, Ontario, CA, Johnstown, OH and Golden, CO.

Veliko Turnovo and Golden, CO, USA, for example, focused their attention on infrastructure improvements by creating a financial plan and implementing a policy of preventative maintenance that has since been replicated in 10 nearby municipalities. Veliko Turnovo continues to update the infrastructure management plan, now a critical element of the city’s financial plan, and has saved millions of dollars.

Composting and improved solid waste management were also identified as areas in need of improvement. Sarah Phillips, village manager of Johnstown, Ohio, has worked in 13 Bulgarian municipalities to provide training and to assist with the creation of composting sites. Educational campaigns implemented by each city have increased public awareness and supported the cities’ composting efforts. In 2006, five new cities established composting sites and deposited over 200 tons of biodegradable waste. Each of these municipalities is prepared to expand the program in 2007 and 46 municipalities expressed interest in creating pilot composting sites during the next year.

Many of the partners have grown to include not just technical but humanitarian assistance. West Bend, Wisconsin, shipped seven 40-foot containers of donated computers, school equipment, books, clothing, blankets, and firefighting equipment to their counterparts in Pazardjik. The effects of CityLinks will long outlast the program's tenure in Bulgaria.

Improved street lighting in Veliko Turnovo is one visible result of technical assistance from its