NY Secretary of State Announces Grants to Reduce Costs and Improve Local Government Services

• by New York State Department of State

ALBANY, NY (04/29/2009)(readMedia)-- New York's Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez announced the recipients of 16 High Priority Planning grants awarded from the 2008-2009 Local Government Efficiency (LGE) grant program. These grants, administered by the New York State Department of State, support Governor David A. Paterson's initiative in assisting local governments ability to identify taxpayer savings and improved service delivery efficiencies through shared services and/or consolidations.

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 it's 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.

A new grant was awarded for $50,000 for Orange, Ulster and Sullivan Counties to study the potential of a collaborative regional approach to jails in the Hudson Valley to both avoid looming capital costs and gain greater efficiency in the use of counties' resources. The study also seeks to understand in detail how a regional collaborative approach to jails might be structured, the opportunities and challenges posed by such a change, the nature of regulatory and/or statutory barriers to change, and the projected capital and operating cost savings that might arise from such an approach.

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."

Ed Diana, Orange County Executive, said: "I want to thank the State of New York for awarding this grant which will allow us to study the impacts and potential benefits of consolidation of services. During these difficult economic times it is imperative that government lead the way in reducing costs, improving efficiencies and eliminating duplicative services wherever practicable."

Gerald Benjamin, State University of New York Professor of Political Science, said: "We are very grateful for the leadership of Orange County and the collaborative commitment of Ulster and Sullivan Counties to this project. In partnership with Pattern for Progress, we look forward to working with the Sheriffs in our region in finding practical ways to save money for taxpayers, while adhering to the highest standards for public safety and being sensitive to prisoners' rights and needs."

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, Kyle Wilber, at 1-800-367-8488.