September 18, 2018 – In a unanimous vote, municipal leaders from all across Westchester County voted to approve the Latimer Administration’s “Update on the Westchester County Shared Services and Taxpayer Savings Plan.” The revised plan was submitted to the NYS Division of the Budget on September 14, 2018.
The 2018 plan, which includes eight new proposals on top of the one proposal from the 2017 plan, would begin in 2019 with matching funds made available by New York State in 2020. The updated plan projects $7.5 million in 2019 savings, $9.3 million in 2020 savings, and $27 million in recurring savings which will benefit taxpayers, make government services and operations more efficient and enable the County and municipalities to receive state matching funds.
County Executive Latimer said: “When my Administration took office in January, one of our biggest goals was to convene all the local governments to develop a shared services plan that could result in real savings to Westchester taxpayers. From the public hearing process, to the participation from municipalities, through the tireless work of our consultants the SUNY Rockefeller Institute of Government and The Benjamin Center at SUNY New Paltz, to the work of our shared services panel – the development of this plan was a success. In an era where governments working cooperatively are few and far between, it was a breath of fresh air to see local governments take this process seriously and find real savings for taxpayers.”
After three public hearings, input from local officials and outreach to a variety of stakeholders including labor and school district officials, the Shared Services Panel, which includes the Mayor/Supervisor of each municipality in Westchester County, voted unanimously to approve the 2018 County-wide Shared Services plan.
County Executive Latimer continued: “Many of the ideas included in these proposals came from local municipal leaders themselves. There is a strong appetite to work together to find places to save money for taxpayers and this process could not have happened without the cooperation and creativeness of all involved. We must also commend Governor Cuomo and his Administration for their understanding of the burden on Westchester taxpayers and their work to develop this matching funds program to help ease it.”
Harrison Mayor Ron Belmont said: "I welcome the opportunity from County Executive Latimer to join other elected officials in seeking ways to eliminate duplicate services and reduce the burden on County taxpayers. The goal is to shrink government operating costs and I look forward to working with the County Executive and other leaders County-wide on a plan that will save property taxpayers money."
A copy of the “Update on the Westchester County Shared Services and Taxpayer Savings Plan” is attached.