The Center for Local Government, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a unique non-profit 501(c)3 organization, created in 1991 as a clearinghouse for collaboration and information sharing. It consists of 44 multi-jurisdictional governments, including 24 cities, 12 townships, and eight villages. The Center was created by government to serve government. One of the Center’s primary goals is to develop collaborative programs, such as the Ohio Capital Asset Financing (OhioCAF) program, that allow jurisdictions to achieve economies of scale and, therefore, reduce costs.

OhioCAF was developed in 2006 at the request of the Center’s membership to create a simpler, inexpensive method for jurisdictions to issue bonds to finance smaller assets and/or projects such as police cars, ambulances, and building renovations. After a successful debut with the Center’s member jurisdictions, the Center’s board decided to offer this opportunity statewide to benefit all of Ohio’s counties, cities, villages, townships, and fire districts.