A troubled economy creates possibilities.

That’s the creed belonging to Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson these days. It motivated her to reach out to the Bainbridge City Council to come together and brainstorm ways the two bodies could navigate the ongoing economic downturn by saving money and generating new revenue through shared resources.

“Let’s get out there and make money because that’s what we need,” Poulsbo City Councilor Jim Henry said at the joint meeting Wednesday.

Both municipalities have suffered a loss of revenue as a result of the economic crunch, so they have to work that much harder to bring in revenue, the councils concluded.

One way the two cities can work together is through tourism. The ferries leave thousands of people on the doorstep of Bainbridge Island, and potentially Poulsbo, and it’s important to take advantage of that, they said.

“I see a need for joint efforts in tourism and beyond that,” said Poulsbo City Councilor Connie Lord. “There are lots of things that go on between the two communities that we may not be coordinating.”

While the meeting produced primarily conceptual discussion that will require more research before any action can be taken, Erickson dove right in.

“So many times we have conversations like this and we talk in these big generalities,” she said. “I want to see your equipment list, I want to get specific,” she said.

Bainbridge Councilor Debbi Lester agreed with Erickson’s thought, saying she had a full list of all Bainbridge public works equipment she could share.

A number of county officials were on hand to witness the meeting, which marked the first time the two councils have come together. A next step for both councils would be to look to the county for ways to share costs, as well.

“I really think this is a groundbreaking event,” said Kitsap County Commissioner Steve Bauer. “I would say there’s a third party to these discussions – the county. We’d be very interested in sitting down and joining this discussion.”

As the meeting wound down, Erickson told the two councils that she would draft a list of priorities based on discussion to send to interim City Manager Lee Walton. Both councils talked about forming committees of one or two members to work with the other council to continue the discussion of shared goals.

The two councils were excited by the ideas that came out of the meeting, which never would have happened had things not taken a turn for the worse economically, Erickson said.

“I truly believe that down economies often bring great opportunities,” she said.