New York State Local Government Efficiency Grant Workshops Announced

New York State Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez announced that Corning, N.Y., hosted the first in the fall series of 15 regional workshops scheduled by the New York State Department of State to introduce the Local Government Efficiency (LGE) grant program's expanded opportunities for shared services. This is the first time applicants have been given the forum to present questions to the Department of State's Division of Local Government Services staff.

"Since Governor Paterson took office, he has spoken about the state's fiscal responsibility. In these fiscally challenging times, the LGE grants provide forward-looking governments with information and assistance about municipal consolidation and shared services -- doing more with less." said Cortés-Vázquez. " The grants further Governor Paterson's agenda to facilitate shared services and ease New Yorkers' tax burden. Our goal is for these innovative projects to be used as models for other local governments. The Shared Services Program and LGE grants promote the health of New York's economy."

Included in the Corning workshop schedule were panel discussions of best practice models and an in-depth review of the grant application process.

The 2008-2009 LGE program has expanded the eligible applicants to include: library
districts, water authorities, sewer authorities, regional planning and development boards, along with counties, cities, towns, villages, special improvement districts, fire districts, school districts, and in certain instances, Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). Other changes include a non-competitive grant category for high-priority projects, as well as the availability of funds for transitional costs in certain circumstances.

Local governments may apply in any of the grant categories listed below:

• High Priority Planning Grants are non-competitive planning grants for city or county charter revisions that include functional consolidations or increased shared services, municipal mergers, consolidations or dissolutions; countywide shared services; or the transfer of local functions to the county and multi-county or regional services. Activities shall have a great potential for cost savings, structural change, and management improvements. The grant maximum is $50,000. For village dissolutions or charter revisions, a single applicant may apply for a grant.
• General Efficiency Planning Grants are competitive planning grants to help identify and study opportunities to improve local government efficiency and cost savings, including health plan consolidations. The grant begins at $25,000 for the first two municipalities, with an additional $1,000 for each municipality added. The grant maximum is $35,000.
• Efficiency Implementation Grants are competitive grants to assist two or more applicants implement projects to improve local government efficiency and achieve cost savings. The grant begins at $200,000 per municipality. The grant maximum is up to $1,000,000. Transitional personnel costs essential for implementation are allowed for a time period of up to three years. If funding is for the implementation of a past SMSI study, the local cost share for that study shall offset local share of this grant only.
• 21st Century Demonstration Projects are competitive grants promoting large scale, transformative change in municipalities that can be used as models for municipal innovation. This may include consolidation of services on a multicounty basis, consolidation of certain services countywide, creation of a regional entity empowered to provide multiple functions on a countywide or regional basis, the creation of a regional or city-county consolidated municipal government, BOCES-wide consolidation of school districts or school district services, or the creation of a regional smart growth compact or program. A maximum of $400,000 per municipality may be awarded.

The submission deadlines for High Priority Planning Grants are Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. on October 8, 2008, November 12, 2008, December 10, 2008, January 14, 2009, February 11, 2009, and March 11, 2009. The submission deadline for the other three grant applications is Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. on January 14, 2009.

Questions about the grant program should be directed to the Shared Service Program Manager, as indicated in the application instructions. The applications are available on the Department of State Web site. Prospective applicants can also obtain applications by calling the Division of Local Government Services at (518) 473-3355 or 1-800-367-8488.