Nassau County Executive Laura Curran joined with the shared services panel in December to vote on and approve the 2020 Nassau County Shared Services and Taxpayer Savings Plan. If fully implemented, the plan can save up to $7.3 million in 2020.
The shared service panel is a group of Nassau County and municipal leaders brought together to identify and implement new ways to save taxpayers money through shared and more efficient services between local governments within the county. The plan was compiled under the guidance of the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
“I am proud that the separate municipalities within Nassau County will be collaborating to deliver improved governmental services at a lower cost to the taxpayers,” Curran said. “With help from the Rockefeller Institute and our intergovernmental partners, I am confident we have created a strong and cost-effective shared services plan. The 2020 shared services plan will not only save residents’ money, it will help our county and fellow municipalities run more efficiently.”
The plan’s key initiatives include:
• Create “Nassau Saves” online portal to expand the use of joint purchasing and the sharing of equipment and personnel
• “Digitize Nassau,” a program to develop joint efforts to digitize mandated records
• Shared information technology services
• Enhanced energy efficiency programs
• Expand joint waste and recycling contracts
• Shared vehicle maintenance facilities and fueling stations
• Implementing never-started initiatives from Nassau’s 2017 plan
• Coordinated effort to improving volunteer ambulance/EMS service
• Centralized contracts for various insurance products
• Joint purchase of a Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) systems
“Shared service initiatives have generated property tax savings for residents by facilitating partnerships between local governments,” Town of Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said. “By working together in a bipartisan manner, we continue to leverage our purchasing power to achieve efficiencies and save real money for taxpayers.”
Many of the projects outlined in the plan have an anticipated multi-year implementation timeline. The Rockefeller Institute estimates savings of up to $7.3 million in 2020, if fully implemented, plus recurring cost savings with the support of intergovernmental partners.
“The NCVOA sincerely appreciates the very important work accomplished by County Executive Curran and the personnel of the Department of Shared Services,” Edward Lieberman, president of the Nassau County Village Officials Association, said. “Although our member villages are constantly utilizing viable methods to better effectuate the quality and the sharing of their local services for the benefit of their respective residents, we also acknowledge that this legislation and its accompanying incorporated procedures is necessary and proper and a welcomed endeavor.”
In July, Curran met with the shared services panel, including more than 100 municipal leaders from Nassau County, composed of town, city and village officials and representatives from special districts. The goal of the shared service panel was to bring together Nassau County and municipal leaders to identify and implement new ways to save taxpayers money through shared and more efficient services between local governments within the county.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature created the county-wide shared services initiative in 2017, which requires each county in New York, except New York City, to create a shared services plan between municipalities by encouraging cooperation through facilitating operational collaboration resulting in local property tax savings for residents.
In 2019, the New York State budget extended this law through 2021 and reaffirmed that there is $225 million available for the state’s one-time match of net savings achieved from shared services actions included in a tax savings plan.
—Submitted by the office of Nassau County Executive Laura Curran
