Albany, N.Y.--In the wake of a report earlier this week from the state Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, State Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira) said today that several area municipalities are among 67 localities statewide receiving grants under the latest round of funding through New York's "Shared Municipal Services Incentive" (SMSI) program.
Winner said that the Legislature created the SMSI program three years ago to promote shared services and other cooperative agreements among local governments. SMSI grants support the development of local projects aimed at cutting local costs.
"These grants have been worthwhile investments in the ongoing effort to encourage local government efficiency as a cornerstone of future property tax relief," said Winner.
Earlier this week the 15-member Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, which was created last April to study and make recommendations on how New York’s 4,200 local governments can provide public services more cooperatively and efficiently, issued its final report. The commission estimated its recommendations could produce upward of $1 billion in cost savings to local governments.
The state's Division of Local Government, which administers the SMSI program, announced yesterday that 67 municipalities will share a total of $13.7 million in grants under the program's latest round of funding. Among the 67 grant recipients are the following area municipalities:
-- Chemung County, $173,880 to undertake a study about existing fire fighting service costs and needs, as well as recommendations for future improvements to be achieved through intermunicipal service-sharing agreements;
-- Chemung County, $304,290 to provide organizational and technical support to the Chemung County Advisory Board during the board's examination of opportunities for increased shared highway services;
-- Schuyler County, $483,000 to establish a partnership with the Watkins Glen School District, town of Dix and village of Watkins Glen to construct a shared public works facility, which will provide central administration to the delivery of public works;
-- Tompkins County, $82,245 for a project to document and evaluate the county's existing water and sewer infrastructure and prepare plans with a focus on the rural centers;
-- Village of Bath (Steuben County), $276,276 to assist the construction of a deicing salt and sand storage facility to accommodate the needs of both the village and town of Bath, which currently operate two separate facilities.
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