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

Funding Provided Through County-Wide Shared Services Initiative

Secretary Rodriguez: “Chautauqua County’s local officials are protecting their constituents when they work together to lessen the tax burden on residents and families.”

The New York Department of State today announced that Chautauqua County is receiving $66,909 achieved through County-Wide Shared Services Initiative (CWSSI) projects submitted to the Department of State (DOS) in its 2021 CWSSI Plan. CWSSI provides a state match of county and local government taxpayer savings achieved in the first year of implementation of new shared services projects. In most cases, these projects will continue to save the county and municipalities money in future years.

“Chautauqua County, in collaboration with their local government partners, are finding and delivering innovative ways to improve services and save money for residents and families,” said Secretary of State Robert J. Rodriguez. “These projects which result in efficiencies and shared services are showing a commitment to good government and the Department of State is proud to support these efforts.”

As part of the County-Wide Shared Services Initiative (CWSSI), Chautauqua County created a Shared Services Plan that identified ways to consolidate services and save taxpayer money through government efficiencies in services and community programs. The four shared services projects that were implemented as part of this plan and achieved taxpayer savings are as follows:

Town-Level Shared Assessor – $24,182.09 CWSSI Award
The Towns of Dunkirk, Hanover, Pomfret and Villenova will save money through a shared service agreement for assessment services. The Town of Pomfret now employs a full-time assessor who contracts with the other towns for assessment services. Previously, the towns each had individual part-time assessors.

Comprehensive Plan Shared Consultant – $30,000.00 CWSSI Award
The Town of Pomfret and the Village of Pomfret collaborated to jointly update their comprehensive plans, which were previously completed over 12 years ago. In addition to saving money, the joint comprehensive plan represents a unique opportunity to develop a shared vision for the victorian village of Fredonia and the surrounding rural Town of Pomfret.

Single Town Justice Shared Service – $7,996.00 CWSSI Award                The Towns of Clymer, French Creek, Mina and Sherman expanded the role of a single town justice to cover all four towns. 

Safety Inspection/Zoning Shared Service – $4,731.00 CWSSI Award
The Town of Busti agreed to share one of its two Code Enforcement Officers with the Town of Harmony on a contractual basis. The agreement includes administration and enforcement of the Town of Harmony’s uniform fire prevention and building code, the energy conservation construction code, and the Town code, including zoning.

Senator George Borrello who represents the 57^th Senate District said, “As a longtime proponent of shared services projects, I applaud the Chautauqua County communities receiving County-Wide Shared Services Initiative (CWSSI) awards for their commitment to their taxpayers and to effective, efficient government. The Department of State's CWSSI program provides the incentive for local collaborations that make good financial sense for municipalities and taxpayers. My congratulations go out to everyone involved for their investment of time and effort in these initiatives and the successful results.” 

Chautauqua County Executive Paul Wendel said, “My administration has been committed to the “unity of effort “ this is a great tribute to that effort. We are so thankful for the state to provide funds to Chautauqua County to continue our mission to not only lessen the tax burden but to create efficient effective government throughout Chautauqua county.”

About The County-Wide Shared Service Initiative Program
The County-Wide Shared Service Initiative (CWSSI) program generates property tax savings by facilitating collaboration between local governments across the state. New York State has matched over $40 million in one-year savings to local governments and taxpayers from over 100 shared services projects over the last five years. CWSSI expands on New York State’s ongoing commitment to reduce property taxes and modernize local government services by fostering new shared services and enhancing the existing collaborations already in place.

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, competitive grants and non-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.