Governor Cuomo Announces Broome County Will Receive Over $3.1 Million in State Matching Funds Through the County-Wide Shared Services Initiative

Statement

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that Broome County will receive over $3.1 million in state matching funds through the County-Wide Shared Services Initiative. Broome County achieved $3,140,353 in taxpayer savings in 2018 through the implementation of new, locally identified shared services projects, and the state will match this amount dollar-for-dollar.

"In New York we are working to cut taxes across the board, and these matching funds will continue to build on the significant progress we've already made to put money back in the pockets of middle-class families," Governor Cuomo said. "I applaud the efforts of the Broome County government for finding innovative new ways to share services, cut costs and generate real savings for New York taxpayers."

Broome County partnered with the Capital District BOCES Pharmacy Purchasing Coalition to achieve total savings of over $3.1 million. The Coalition enables participating entities to maintain their current pharmacy plans, governance and autonomy, while leveraging large-scale group purchasing discounts and contracting that currently encompasses 600,000 lives. The remaining net savings of over $9,700 resulted from sharing caseworkers between school districts.

Secretary of State Rossana Rosado said, "We are committed to supporting our local governments to protect the interests of our taxpayers. This program has and will continue to foster partnerships and conversations that identify projects that cross municipal boundaries and save taxpayer dollars."

Senator Fred Akshar said, "Congratulations to Broome County Executive Garnar and the Broome County Legislature for doing what's right for the taxpayers of this county. High property taxes continue to be one of the top concerns amongst Broome County residents and has sadly contributed to the out-migration of far too many people in this state. It's not always easy to find ways to cut costs and share services but our local leaders did just that. I'd like to thank Governor Cuomo and the Department of State for partnering with local officials across this state to incentivize creative governing which will help dozens of municipalities and thousands of their residents."

Assembly Member Clifford Crouch said, "I am immensely pleased to see Broome County receive such a prestigious grant. Our taxpayers will and already have, greatly benefited from CWSSI's implementation and I look forward to seeing the relief that it brings to the Southern Tier. Such a massive amount of savings is an amazing landmark in ensuring our taxpayers get the most out of these services and their state government."

Assembly Member Donna Lupardo said, "I'd like to congratulate County Executive Jason Garnar and his entire team for their hard work resulting in these savings; taxpayers deserve the attention that is being given to initiatives like this. I appreciate the Governor's and Department of State's recognition and support for cost saving measures for municipalities."

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said, "Millions of dollars coming to Broome County is a MAJOR win. After all our hard work on the County-Wide Shared Services Initiative, I am proud that Broome County is among the first to be awarded matching funds. As soon as Governor Cuomo announced the program, my team and I hit the ground running to introduce new shared services in Broome County and that has paid off, to the tune of $3.1 million dollars. Thank you to the Governor for recognizing our hard work in Broome County to protect our taxpayers."

The state-matched funds to Broome County is the first payment that is expected to be made to 31 counties that became eligible in 2019 to apply for a State match of net savings under the County-Wide Shared Services Initiative, or CWSSI. The $3.1 million state match applies to the first year of actual savings.

Guidance documents regarding the CWSSI and state match application process are available here. Past CWSSI plans are available here.

The County-Wide Services Initiative is administered by the Division of Local Government Services at the Department of State. The Division provides technical assistance and competitive grants to local governments. For more information on CWSSI or any programs administered by the Division, please contact localgov@dos.ny.gov or call 518-473-3355.