Hudson Falls Gets Grant To Study Village Dissolution
Posted on Wednesday, 15 of July , 2009 at 9:05 am
ALBANY—The Village of Hudson Falls will be the recipient of a $49,5000 Local Government Efficiency (LGE) program grant conduct a service delivery and dissolution study, to assess the potential cost savings and service impacts associated with restructuring the delivery of village services.
The findings of the study will guide the village trustees’ decisions as they explore village dissolution.
More than $5.2 million in Local Government Efficiency (LGE) program grants has been awarded for projects across New York. The LGE awards support projects that modernize the services provided by local governments through consolidation and shared operations.
A total of 41 projects in Western New York, the Southern Tier, Central New York and the North Country are expected to save taxpayers more than $34 million.
Last week, the Governor announced that 22 projects in the Capital Region, Hudson Valley and Long Island would receive LGE grants for an estimated saving of more than $73 million. Overall, the LGE program grants are expected to save New York State taxpayers more than $105 million. The LGE Program, which began in 2005, has already awarded $29 million in grants and saved an estimated $250 million.
“At a time of fiscal crisis, it is essential that we continue working to make New York more affordable for businesses and families. We need to reduce the property tax burden, and one way to do that is to modernize the delivery of local government services,” Governor Paterson said. “The Local Government Efficiency Grant Program helps municipalities to invest in their future savings, consolidating services to reduce waste and improve operations. These shared-service programs are an effective cost-saving measure that helps us build sustainable, high-quality services that will benefit communities across the State.”
The announcement of the LGE grants is latest in a series of measures the Governor has taken to lower the cost of government, a priority of his Administration. Last month, he announced the creation of the Office of Taxpayer Accountability to manage efforts that reduce waste and find efficiencies in State government. The Governor also signed the New York Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act to establish procedures for the consolidation and dissolution of special districts. Through these commitments, the Governor has applied administrative and legislative tools that will help to decrease spending, achieve reform and reduce property taxes.
An overview of the LGE grant allocation by region is included below. For a complete list of all the LGE awards, please visit the Department of State website: http://www.dos.state.ny.us.
Western New York: 17 grants totaling $3,462,811 with anticipated savings of over $29.3 million for implementation projects, including:
$400,000 for the Town of Hamburg to consolidate 38 individual water districts and transfer ownership of its water system to the Erie County Water Authority (ECWA), saving an excess of $1 million annually for capital improvements and operations. Taxpayers are expected to save of up to $185 per year for 20 years.
Southern Tier/Finger Lakes: Eight grants totaling $693,069 with anticipated savings of over $1.7 million for implementation projects, including:
$335,520 for Steuben County to consolidate and upgrade Information Technology (IT) support and maintenance services for the City of Corning, the Town and Village of Bath and Steuben County. The project will provide technical assistance, web site development and on-line automated payment capability for the four municipalities. The benefit to the partners includes potential economic revitalization for an area of the State with limited internet access and tourism exposure, as well as building consistency in support and maintenance of IT operations, improved transparency of government and convenience in accessing local government information.
Central New York: 10 grants totaling $830,165 with anticipated savings of over $2.2 million for implementation projects, including:
$311,939 for the Village and Town of Manlius to implement a functional consolidation of its existing shared sewer services. This consolidation will utilize a regional approach to service delivery will include transferring a shared sewer line to Onondaga County.
North Country: Six grants totaling $215,250 including the Hudson Falls project have been awarded in planning projects to position these municipalities to implement future cost reduction projects. 7-15-09
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Category: Good News, Government, New York State
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