EAGLE-Net Alliance (EAGLE-Net) is an intergovernmental entity, formed in September 2010. The Colorado Constitution and state statutes allow for two or more governmental entities to enter into a contract called an intergovernmental agreement to create a separate entity in order to provide any function or services that each have the authority to undertake independently. The initial entities that formed EAGLE-Net were the Centennial Board of Cooperative Educational Services and the Northeast Colorado Board of Cooperative Educational Services. Soon after, the Town of Castle Rock and Adams County School District 27J became members. EAGLE-Net has since grown to include 40 local government entities from all over the State of Colorado, and that number is expected to grow going forward.
How is EAGLE-Net organized?
EAGLE-Net's foundational document is the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) that all members must sign to become a member of this intergovernmental entity. The IGA and EAGLE-Net's bylaws are somewhat analogous to the charter for a home rule municipality. Pursuant to the IGA and bylaws, EAGLE-Net is governed by a Board of Directors that represents EAGLE-Net's member jurisdictions. The original Board was appointed in the original IGA, and new directors will be elected from among EAGLE-Net's members beginning in August 2013. The Board of Directors meets monthly.
EAGLE-Net has been described as a 'membership cooperative' - what does that mean?
EAGLE-Net is able to provide services on behalf of its entire membership for shared cost savings. Members of the EAGLE-Net cost-sharing cooperative may receive benefits including competitively priced broadband services and other value-added member services such as remote data center, data warehousing, and virtual machine hosting. To become a member of EAGLE-Net's cost-sharing cooperative, governmental and quasi-governmental entities must first sign the EAGLE-Net IGA, which makes them eligible to purchase EAGLE-Net services. Membership does not commit a member to purchase any specific level of service; it simply makes member jurisdictions eligible to acquire whatever level of service they deem best meets their needs.
How is EAGLE-Net recognized in Colorado?
All local governments in Colorado - municipalities, counties, special districts, and intergovernmental entities like EAGLE-Net, must file their organizational documents and be recognized by the Colorado Department Local Affairs (DOLA). EAGLE-Net is listed as an intergovernmental entity on the DOLA website.
Is EAGLE-Net governed by local, state or federal law?
As an intergovernmental entity created pursuant to Colorado law, and as the recipient of a federal grant, EAGLE-Net is subject to local, state and federal requirements. At the foundation level, EAGLE-Net is governed by and responsible to the individual governmental entities that comprise its membership - the school districts, cities, towns, boards of cooperative educational services, higher education institutions and others. EAGLE-Net must retain an independent auditor to conduct an annual each fiscal year (EAGLE-Net's fiscal year begins July 1st of each year). Audited financial statements are initially submitted to the EAGLE-Net Board of Directors for review and then filed with the State.
EAGLE-Net is also the recipient of a federally funded $100.6 million Broadband Technologies Opportunities Program (BTOP) infrastructure grant through the United States Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). With respect to these federal grant funds, EAGLE-Net must report the status of the grant and its compliance with the federal rules related to that grant to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is the agency that manages the EAGLE-Net BTOP grant. EAGLE-Net maintains regular communication with the NTIA regarding the grant project, and submits quarterly and annual reports to the NTIA on the progress of the project's implementation.
