Broome Applied for LGEC Grant in January, for more information click HERE

To date, through the LGE grant program, local governments have projected a savings of $250 million dollars from a $27 million state investment.

Secretary of State Cortés-Vázquez said: “The Governor has made lowering the cost of local government a top priority of his administration. During these tough economic times its important that local governments are working together to bring down costs and improve services. The Local Government Efficiency grant program allows municipalities to be entrepreneurial in their approaches to reducing the cost of government while increasing efficiency through the sharing of services, consolidation, and/or dissolution.  New Yorkers must work together and support one another as we build a better, stronger future for our State.”

High Priority Planning grants include the development of a city or a county charter revision that includes functional consolidations or increased shared services; municipal mergers, consolidations or dissolutions; countywide shared services or the transfer of local functions to the county; and, multi-county or regional services.

Five new High Priority Planning grants have been awarded to the Central New York region.  One grant, for $50,000, went to the Wayne County Water and Sewer Authority to prepare a long-range water supply plan for the southeastern area of Wayne County.  The Water and Sewer Authority is proposing to work cooperatively with the Towns of Lyons, Galen Savannah, Butler and Rose, the Villages of Newark, Lyons and Clyde and the Wayne County Industrial Development Agency (WCIDA), along with the Village of Waterloo in Seneca County.  The plan will evaluate potential cost savings, increased efficiency and improved services relating to the delivery of public water services within the area on a regional basis.

Broome County received $50,000 to assess the feasibility of consolidation of municipal police forces and to develop an implementation strategy based on this assessment.  Currently, there are five municipal police departments located in the urbanized core of Broome County, as well as a rural police force, the Broome County Sheriff's Department, Broome County Security and the State Troopers.  Broome County, the City of Binghamton and the Village of Johnson City, as the applicants, will work together on this study in order to allow local municipalities and the public at large to make an informed decision about the most efficient and cost-effective way to proceed with police services.

The third grant to the region is for $45,000 and went to the Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES and the 11 School Districts within Wayne County to explore the concept of Regional High Schools in Wayne County.  The study and planning will examine the potential savings, management improvements, and benefits to the community in developing regional high schools. A regional high school is defined as two or more school districts combining their high school programs and retaining separate elementary, and middle school programs, or K-8 programs.

The forth grant, for $29,000, went to the Seneca County to study the cost -effectiveness and service delivery quality of a proposed functional consolidation of Seneca County's disparate School District and municipal vehicle maintenance facilities into a single, countywide service.

Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES also received $45,000 to study the overall feasibility for creating a Regional Operations Center that would include all higher-order administrative and management services needed by co-applicant school districts.  The intent being to develop a regional shared services business model designed to significantly reduce operating costs and significantly increase the return on investment (ROI) for all co-applicants and their constituent taxpayers.  A final product will be a ROC Business Plan.

New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Chair of the State Senate Local Government Committee, said:  “I am so pleased to join Secretary of State Cortés-Vázquez in recognizing the recipients of this round of High Priority Planning grants across New York State.  These municipalities have all successfully fulfilled the criteria which enables the Department of State to effectively assist them in creating new savings for taxpayers.  The current economic climate requires that State government take the lead in creating and incentivizing efficiencies which translate into savings, while continuing to ensure quality of services.  These grants are a vital tool for achieving those goals."

New York State Assemblymember Sam Hoyt, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Local Governments, said: “During this challenging economic climate, New York government must think creatively in its pursuit to be more effective and efficient.  The Local Government Efficiency grant program is an exciting example of state and local government partnering to provide a platform for local municipalities to strategize ways in which they can reduce the cost and complexity of services.”

Martin J. Aman, Executive Director Wayne County Water and Sewer Authority, said: ‘This grant is a critical component in our ability to be able to fund the regional study, that will enable us to plan for the near term and future water supply needs of Wayne and Seneca counties.  It is especially important with the added challenges the water industry now faces with regard to new regulations and infrastructure construction and replacement.”

Joseph Marinelli, Ph.D., District Superintendent at Wayne-Finger Lakes BOCES, said:  “With this grant, we will be able to take a closer look at what the Regional High School Model could offer students and school districts in Wayne County.  Studying the concept and feasibility of the Regional High School Model will provide Wayne County school districts with one option to look at as they face a declining student population, a heavy property tax burden, the desire to maximize resources and provide enhanced student programs. It is important to note that this grant is for a study only.  When the results of the study are in hand, each school district’s Board and community will have an opportunity to review them and decide where to go from there.”

Suzanne Sinclair, Seneca County Manager, said: “Seneca County is excited to take the lead in creating efficient government services, and we appreciate the New York State Department of State’s support in this effort.”

Bill Speck, District Superintendent of Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES, said:“The school districts of the Cayuga-Onondaga BOCES are very excited to hear about the approval of the High Priority Planning Grant.  This grant will allow us to move forward in examining and implementing opportunities to create greater efficiencies and cost savings for our school district operations.  Ultimately, every dollar that is saved in these areas can be used to support our mission of providing the best educational opportunities and supports for the children and families of Cayuga and Onondaga counties.  We consider ourselves fortunate and look forward to moving forward with this initiative.”

 More information about the Department of State can be found at http://www.dos.state.ny.us . Questions about the grant program should be directed to the Program Administrator