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"I was happy to testify before the NYS Senate Committee on Local Government about the Governor’s shared services mandates," Molinaro said on his Facebook page. "While Dutchess has led on shared services and we followed the onerous law to develop an aggressive plan, this was clearly an insulting distraction that misses the forest for the trees.
More details on the County’s 2017 Municipal Innovation Grant Program can be found by clicking here. The program makes $1 million available to help communities innovate and partner with each other in an effort to save money and reduce the property tax levy, while maintaining or improving the quality of service they provide to their constituents.
When he announced the program, Molinaro said, “Dutchess County has been a leader in shared services throughout New York. Our municipal leaders set the example Albany might learn from. Our innovative approach has already resulted in extraordinary and ground-breaking advancements throughout our county. We’ve consolidated communication tools between law enforcement agencies, offered land use assistance and supported shared assessors, to name a few of our tax-savings initiatives."
"Our Municipal Innovation Grant Program continues bringing about shared services, new efficiencies and cost savings. Ironically, as Albany mandates a top-down bureaucratic approach, our municipalities partner to implement new, inventive ways to improve services lessening the burden of property taxes. Our Municipal Innovation Grant is part of our ongoing efforts to share services and save tax dollars – through respect and partnership, we are leading the way," Molinaro said.
The 2017 Municipal Innovation Grant Program focused on Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement, Land Use/Economic Development and General Innovation. Additionally, grant proposals must concentrate their efforts on one of six sub-categories: Shared Services, Consolidation, Regional Delivery of Services, Dissolution of a Layer of Government, Other Efficiency Improvements, or Planning and/or Implementation.
Started in 2013, Dutchess County’s Municipal Innovation Grant Program has spurred such successful programs as shared assessor services, a partnership between the towns of Beekman and Dover; the John Jay sewer improvement area engineering and construction, a collaboration between the Town of East Fishkill and the Wappinger Central School District; and tri-municipal wastewater treatment system upgrades, a project on which the towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger, as well as the Village of Wappingers Falls partnered, among others.
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