Law School Dean Discusses Role in State’s Shared Services Program

ALBANY, NY (09/28/2008)(readMedia)-- Sometimes you have to show the horse where the water is before it will drink. At least that seems to have been the case with New York’s shared services program.

It was not enough for the NYS Legislature to charge the Secretary of State with promoting the sharing services by local government agencies. (See Empire Page interview with Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez concerning her agency’s shared services program.)

Local officials needed information and assistance. Enter the Government Law Center of Albany Law School led by its director Patricia E. Salkin, the subject of this week’s interview with the Empire Page.

In the interview, Salkin explains the partnership between the Department of State and Albany Law School and outlines some of the accomplishments of the shared services program.

“The concept of sharing services might not be very sexy to the average citizen,” stated Peter G. Pollak, publisher and editor of the Empire Page. “However, this program as well as efforts to assist local government consolidation, can result in significant reductions in local taxes at a time when NYS is facing a serious threat of lost tax revenue.”

To read the entire interview, visit the Improving New York section of the Empire Page.

The Empire Page is published by PoliticalNewsToday.com, LLC, which seeks to provide information and opinion on the key issues of the day through websites that aggregate content and provide useful features for people active in government and politics. The partnership consists of Peter G. Pollak, who is the majority shareholder and actively manages the company, Schwartz-Heslin Group and Wynantskill Capital.