County Led Initiative of Shared Services Projects Helping Save Taxpayers Money

State Approves 95% Match of Taxpayer Savings Generated Through the Implementation of New, Locally Identified Shared Services Projects

The New York Department of State today announced Broome County and the municipalities of Binghamton, Colesville, Deposit and Sanford have received a total of $229,655 in state matching funds via the County-Wide Shared Services Initiative (CWSSI). During this fiscal year, the CWSSI is providing a 95 percent state match of taxpayer savings achieved through the implementation of new shared services identified in county-wide plans produced as a result of the Initiative. In 2019, Broome County and its municipal partners identified ways to consolidate services and save taxpayer money through government efficiencies in services and centralized programs.

“We are committed to working together with our local government partners to continuously look for new ways to save taxpayer dollars and create efficiencies,” said Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez. “The County-Wide Shared Services Initiative is one of the key programs that helps motivate communities to streamline services. Broome County has once again benefitted from this program by implementing a new round of projects to deliver recurring savings for its residents for many years.”

The shared services projects that were implemented are as follows:

Centralized Upgrade of Safety Communications - CWSSI award total - $120,291.74

• Broome County facilitated the creation of a long-term strategy to upgrade safety communications throughout the region and worked out agreements with the City of Binghamton, Town of Colesville and Town of Sanford.
• Binghamton, Colesville and Sanford to build radio towers at a rate more affordable as a shared service than individual projects.

Court Consolidation – CWSSI award total - $25,293.64

• The Village of Deposit voted to dissolve its Village Court, moving cases to the Town of Sanford.

Police Department Consolidation – CWSSI award total - $84,070.18

• The Village of Deposit also voted to dissolve its Police Department after working with the Broome County Sheriff to ensure a high level of public safety.

Broome County Executive Jason T. Garner said, "Saving taxpayers money is an ongoing priority for Broome County. Upgrading our communications network was a huge undertaking, but the perfect example of sharing services to not only achieve savings, but enhance public safety across the County. I appreciate the Department of State recognizing the collaborative work we've done to make local government more efficient." 

Assemblymember Donna Lupardo said, “It’s good to see that Broome County and their partner municipalities are taking advantage of this important state initiative. Taxpayers want government to be as efficient as possible, saving precious tax dollars in the process. I’d like to thank everyone involved for their efforts to promote the shared county-wide services that were announced today.”

Assemblymember Christopher S. Friend said, “I would like to thank Broome county for finding more efficient ways to allocate government resources using taxpayer funds. I would also like to thank New York State for supporting these locally developed efficiency measures. I think it is important to note that this shared services incentive program rewards plans originating at the local level, rather than enforcing top-down mandates from the State. Individuals who are actually involved in running the services are the best source for understanding possible realized efficiencies.”

The CWSSI generates property tax savings by facilitating collaboration between local governments across the state. Over the last five years, the CWSSI program has awarded more than $34 million in matching funds to 19 counties, supporting 84 shared services projects, and generating approximately $34 million in savings to local governments. Since the inception of the CWSSI program, Broome County and its municipal partners have been awarded $3,370,008.45 in CWSSI funding. Guidance documents regarding the CWSSI and state match application process, as well as past CWSSI plans, are available here.

The County-Wide Services Initiative is administered by the Division of Local Government Services at the Department of State. The Division provides technical assistance and competitive grants to local governments. For more information on CWSSI or any programs administered by the Division, please contact localgov@dos.ny.gov or call 518 473-3355.

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