FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 27, 2018
Contact: John Lyon 845-638-5645

New City, NY – County Executive Ed Day joined with Shared Services Panel Members from Towns, Villages, School Districts and Fire Districts to unveil the draft Shared Services Initiative Plan.

The current draft of the Plan would save the panel members an estimated $9,161,430 in 2019 and $14,393,430 in 2020. These numbers are preliminary and subject to change depending on the possibility of more school districts and fire districts joining the panel. Panel members may also decide to be added to specific projects that are listed within the plan.

"The purpose of this plan is to explore ways to improve and consolidate services to save our taxpayers money. It was written from the ground up with municipalities and organizations offering suggestions for inclusion, driven by their ideas and I am proud to have worked with them in developing those ideas," said County Executive Day.

Last year the Rockland County Shared Services Report was filed with the Rockland County Legislature. That report highlighted areas of interest that were pursued for inclusion in this years Shared Services Plan including animal control, highway department equipment sharing, sewer district consolidation and health insurance cost savings (which 4 of the 5 towns and 10 villages were interested in exploring).

The process resumed in February of this year and involved weekly meetings with municipalities and districts covering a wide range of topics coordinated by Andy Stewart Senior Vice President for Research and Analysis for Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, the consultants retained by Rockland County to draft the Plan, and Stephen J. Powers the Director of Public Policy and Intergovernmental Relations for Rockland County Executive Day.

Highlights of the preliminary plan include an estimated $4.5 million savings for pooled retiree health insurance for municipal employees. Another large savings is $1,433,840 for the sharing of equipment between Highway Departments such as a "street line paint truck" for all towns and villages and Rockland County providing municipal engineering services to town and villages for highway and drainage projects.

The Procurement Center for Excellence will be a county-wide purchasing cooperative and will save an estimated $1,008,450. The Sewer District Consolidation could save an estimated $1,000,000 in 2019 and $5.4 million in 2020.

There are also smaller but still significant projects like Rockland BOCES possibly contracting with the Villages of Haverstraw and West Haverstraw to provide educational experiences for youth participants of their summer recreational programming; a projected savings of $12,000 in 2019 and $15,000 in 2020. A small project but one that will mean a great deal to the youth who take part. It is hoped that more municipalities will join this project for the benefit of their young people and additional savings.

"That's the true goal of the Shared Services Initiative, bringing together these different municipalities and organizations to improve services to their residents while saving money," said Day. "We have heard the concerns of taxpayers loud and clear. As governments, school and fire districts, we must find efficiencies and cost savings whenever possible. These projects may also be eligible for matching funds from New York State."

The draft Plan will be submitted to the Rockland County Legislature for review today, July 27, 2018. The next steps include holding three public hearings on the draft plan. One will be held during the day at 1 PM on Tuesday, August 21st in the Town of Stony Point at their RHO Building. The next will be held at Village Hall in Suffern at 7 PM on Wednesday, September 5th. The third meeting we are awaiting confirmation of date and location. Next will be the certifying and transmitting the approved plan to the state by September 15, 2018, and publicly presenting the plan by October 15, 2018.

"The normal cost for renting equipment like Bulldozers, Rollers, 'street line paint trucks' and other specialty equipment can be prohibitive to the projects and infrastructure improvements we want for our residents," said Stony Point Supervisor Jim Monaghan. "I am thankful for the involvement of all our partners here today and those who weren't able to attend. The relationships we created through this process and this Plan will stand as a blueprint for continued long-term savings for Stony Point and the entire county."

"The opportunity to explore shared service projects is a further example of the Village of Suffern's commitment to fiscal responsibility," Suffern Mayor Ed Markunas said. "Suffern is particularly interested in further evaluating the possibility of a sewer consolidation which has the potential to significantly benefit Suffern taxpayers." The sewer consolidation initiative is an example of how Suffern and Rockland County can benefit from the infrastructure that Suffern is uniquely able to provide. "We are also looking forward to participating in joint procurement projects for cooperative purchasing and records management with BOCES." Markunas said. "And, I am looking forward to teaming with Rockland County in the shared services initiative as a further example of fiscally responsible measures that will benefit the taxpayers of Suffern and Rockland County as a whole."

Village of Nyack Mayor Don Hammond said, "since becoming Mayor of Nyack in January we have explored opportunities to share services and equipment with other municipalities. The Shared Services Initiative provides a structured process to explore possibilities for enhancing services and containing costs. It is critical that municipalities work together for our constituents."

"The County Executive's Office took this mandate very seriously and has engaged all levels of municipal government in an effort to think outside our boxes and look for ways to cooperatively share services, combine purchasing and think of ways to save money for our taxpayers," said Village of Haverstraw Mayor Michael Kohut. "The effort and cooperation of everyone has yielded some very promising results and should lead to a future of continued cooperation amongst governments."

"Although intermunicipal cooperation has been around for many years in Rockland County, this was a great opportunity to revisit our current shared services and work together to explore new possibilities with the intent of reducing costs and improving services for all of our municipalities," said Village of South Nyack Mayor Bonnie Christian.

Rockland BOCES Chief Operating Officer Dr. Mary Jean Marsico said, "By bringing together the county, towns and villages, Rockland BOCES, school districts and other public authorities to discuss sharing expertise and resources in a transparent manner, we have identified areas of strength in every agency, determining where each could provide service to others. We believe the final report will guide local leaders to form and maintain successful shared service relationships for the long term. At Rockland BOCES, we know this collaborative effort will be a major step forward in providing key services to our residents, while managing limited financial resources. We are pleased to be a part of it."

"The Clarkstown Central School District is pleased to participate in the Rockland County shared services initiative. These activities complement our ongoing focus to improve overall operational efficiency while creating academic opportunities for each student to reach their full potential," said Clarkstown Central School District's Chief Administrative Officer and Assistant Superintendent of Business John LaNave.

"Rockland Community College (RCC) is committed to finding every efficiency possible to keep tuition low for our students while still providing a first-class education right here in Rockland County," said RCC President Dr. Michael Baston. "I commend the other panel members, and the Rockland County Executive for the collaborative process used to create the draft Shared Services Plan. I look forward to implementing these initiatives to save money while improving the services RCC offers."

"I believe that other leaders in the Rockland County Fire service would agree that when purchasing services and equipment that we use for fire protection, we would never compromise the safety of firefighters and the community, for the sake of purchasing inferior, perhaps cheaper, products. At the same time however, we have an obligation to county residents and taxpayers, to contain cost, when in doing so there is no compromise in quality and safely," said Board Chairman of the Blauvelt Volunteer Fire Company Bob Clifford. "Consistent with this view, having county Fire companies join forces with other county agencies on the "Shared Services" initiative should help use strive towards cost containment without sacrificing the safety and quality of the products that we purchase."

"This initiative brought together many parts of local government, from highways to sanitation, law enforcement and finance, to work for the public interest in new ways," said Jonathan Drapkin, President & CEO of Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress, the nonprofit organization hired to facilitate the shared services initiative. "Facilitating these meetings and helping to develop these plans, knowing they will enhance the quality of life and affordability in Rockland and the Hudson Valley region is exactly the kind of work that Pattern is known for," he added.

View the Shared Services Plan Draft

Entire press conference is available online at https://bit.ly/2OoxTcb

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