May 9, 2018 – Taking the first steps toward submitting a revised County-Wide Shared Services Plan aimed at saving taxpayers money, Westchester County Executive George Latimer convened a meeting of the County-Wide Shared Services Panel. The Panel met with County Departments and Offices, members of the Board of Legislators and representatives from school districts, school boards and BOCES at the County Center in White Plains
Latimer said: “My administration welcomes any opportunity to work with our municipal partners in government to find ways to collaborate and reduce the cost of providing services to the residents of Westchester. This is an important process for our County and all local governments to undertake. We are grateful to the Governor and the NYS Division of the Budget for their work to facilitate these shared savings and look forward to seeing the results.”
In order to ensure a comprehensive approach to all aspects of shared services, consolidations and technological innovations, the County has engaged a team from the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government and the Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz to assist with the development of the plan. Director of the Rockefeller Institute Dr. James Malatras and Benjamin Center Director & Associate Vice President for Regional Engagement Gerald Benjamin facilitated the meeting, which opened with welcome remarks from the County Executive on the importance of working together to save taxpayers money.
The 2017 New York State budget required every County Executive, outside of a city of over one million residents, to make a savings plan in coordination with the county, cities, towns, villages and other groups. The Chief Executive of each municipality serves as the representative on the shared services panel. The 2018 State budget allows counties to submit new plans in order to generate additional property tax savings – which is exactly what Westchester County will do.
The revised plan must be submitted to the Board of Legislators by August 1, 2018 in order to be eligible for matched funding from the state. Three public hearings will be held during the planning process. The first two will be on June 14, 2018, from 3p.m. to 5p.m. at the Yonkers Riverfront Library and 7p.m. to 9p.m. at the Mt. Kisco Library.