Murrieta officials needed an experienced planner but did not want to pay the high cost to contract with one from a private firm.

Vista, a San Diego County city wracked by the recession, couldn't afford to keep one of its best planners.

So, it decided to share.

Entering the fourth month of an employee-sharing agreement, believed to be unprecedented in city government, elected officials and staff said sharing the employee has been beneficial for both cities. Officials from other cities looking for ways to cut costs during the downturn are beginning to take notice.

"We've been preaching fiscal responsibility, and we've been looking for ways to save money," City Councilman Doug McAllister said. "We're able to benefit with the experience and not incur the expense; I see it as a positive thing."

Murrieta was looking for additional staff to assist with the update of its blueprint for development called a general plan when Vista officials approached them with the idea of sharing Principal Planner Elaine Blackburn, the second in command in Vista's community development department.

Murrieta City Manager Rick Dudley was the former assistant city manager in Vista.

According to a June 16 staff report, the city agreed to pay half of Blackburn's salary and benefits and a 10 percent administrative fee to the city of Vista until June 30, 2010, about $78,215. Vista contracts Blackburn out to Murrieta. Her salary and benefits are on par with other cities that have principal planners, based on a records request. The administrative fee is a charge that cities will levy for handling a contract.

While there might have been questions from critics because of Dudley's relationship with Vista, McAllister said he thought Dudley's familiarity with Blackburn was a plus.

"I thought it was a benefit that Rick (Dudley) would know who the good ones were," McAllister said. "Otherwise, we would have been getting a stranger, which may or may not have worked out."

Blackburn said she initially wasn't thrilled with the idea of a daily commute from her San Marcos home to Murrieta but said she has come to like it.

"What I find is that it revives my interest even more in planning," Blackburn said.

A city contracting with private firms for their planning services was common during the housing boom, when cities were overrun with requests to develop land and needed the extra help.

However, planning directors and city officials from other cities said they had never heard of two cities sharing an employee.

"It is a pretty ingenious idea," said Kurt Christiansen, the community development director of the Los Angeles County city of Azusa. Christiansen is the president of the California chapter of the American Planning Association. "If it serves a purpose and helps out both cities, and it is enabling a planner to keep their job during the economy, I think it is a great solution."

Officials in both Vista and Murrieta said they would explore other agreements with other cities if the opportunity presented itself.

"If the need arises, I wouldn't say no," said John Conley, Vista's Community Development director.

In nearby Lake Elsinore, the city has had to cut the hours of all of its employees and contract planners. Community Development Director Tom Weiner said he also hadn't heard of the idea of sharing an employee with another city, but he said it was intriguing.

"It definitely has merit, and as everyone deals with the economic uncertainty, it might be something we all explore," Weiner said.

Reach Aaron Burgin at 951-375-3733 or aburgin@PE.com