Picente to Convene Oneida County Shared Services Panel

All mayors and town supervisors invited to state-required meeting 

Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. announced today that he has invited all of the county’s 46 city and village mayors and town supervisors to participate in a Shared Services Panel that has been required by New York State.

The fiscal year 2018 New York State Budget enacted the County-wide Shared Services Property Tax Savings Plan Law, which requires the chief executive officer of each of the 57 counties outside of New York City to convene a panel of public officials to develop, publically deliberate and vote upon county-wide shared service savings plans.

The plan must contain new recurring property tax savings through actions such as, but not limited to, the elimination of duplicate services, shared services, the reduction of back-office administrative overhead and the improved coordination of services.

“A major goal of mine as County Executive has always been to deliver government services in the most efficient way possible at the lowest cost,” Picente said. “To accomplish that goal, I have continued to pursue every opportunity that presents itself. I hope that all of our county’s mayors and town supervisors share in that belief and will join me in formulating a solid plan that will further this goal. This is an opportunity for us all to come together and do what the people want: end wasteful government spending and lower taxes.”

The Oneida County Shared Services Panel will meet on June 13 at Mohawk Valley Community College’s Rome Campus.

After that meeting, Picente, who serves as the panel’s chairman, is then required to consult with and take recommendations from the panel representatives, as well as the representative of each collective bargaining unit of the county and cities, towns and villages in developing Oneida County’s initial shared services savings plan. The plan, along with a certification as to the accuracy of the property tax savings, must then be submitted to the Board of Legislators no later than Aug. 1.

Upon receipt of an advisory report issued by a majority of the Legislature, Picente may modify the plan, and if so, provide an updated certification as to the accuracy of the property tax savings.

At least three public hearings must then be conducted before the plan is submitted to  Oneida County’s Shared Services Panel for approval no later than Sept. 15. The plan must be passed by majority vote, with each panel member stating in writing the reason for his or her vote. However, prior to the vote, each panel member may remove any proposed action that affects their local government, with a written notice being provided to the County Executive prior to the panel-wide vote.

If the plan is approved, Picente will finalize and disseminate it to county residents and submit to the Director of the Division of the Budget a certification of the plan and its property tax savings plan. The County Executive must then conduct a public presentation of the approved plan no later than Oct. 15.

If the plan fails, or is not voted on, Picente must release to the public a report on the proposal that includes the vote of each panel member, and the reasons for each of their votes. He must then restart the process, hitting the same target dates again in 2018.

Plans finalized in 2017 may be eligible for a one-time match of the net savings from new shared service actions implemented and achieved among multiple jurisdictions between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2018. Those finalized in 2018 may be eligible for a one-time match of such savings achieved by between Jan.1 and Dec. 31, 2019. Participation in other grant programs supporting local government consolidation does not disqualify entities for the match under the initiative.