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Email: press@dos.ny.gov
October 26, 2026
NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF STATE ANNOUNCES $8 MILLION AWARDED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR EFFICIENCY AND SHARED SERVICE INITIATIVES
Funding Awarded through NYS Department of State’s Local Government Efficiency Grant Program
Projects include Planning and Implementation Projects Designed to Lower Current and Future Costs for Municipalities
Implementation of Shared Services Help Municipalities Join Forces to Incentivize Affordability and Save Taxpayers Money
The New York Department of State today announced $8 million in grant awards for 25 projects that are designed to create efficiencies and lower costs for local governments across New York State. The funding is administered by NYS Department of State through its competitive Local Government Efficiency Grant (LGEG) Program which incentivizes New York municipalities to engage in partnerships to help make New York communities more affordable by reducing municipal costs through consolidations, shared services, and internal efficiencies. The opportunity creates both short and long-term savings for counties, cities, towns, villages and other governmental entities.
“This funding announcement is one more step in creating a more affordable state for its residents because it encourages municipalities to join forces to find saving opportunities for the services they provide,” said New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley. “Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, this new round of $8 million will help 25 local governments be ready to face current and emerging challenges to accomplish what ultimately matters most: effective municipal services and tax savings for residents.”
The Local Government Efficiency Grant Program provides both planning and implementation funding to local governments that apply to the competitively scored grant program. The LGEG program awards individual municipalities up to $20,000 for planning grants and up to $250,000 for implementation grants.
New York State Senator Monica Martinez said: “When local governments work together, every taxpayer dollar can go further. The Local Government Efficiency Grant Program helps municipalities lower costs, maintain quality services and generate long-term savings that ease the burden on taxpayers, something every New Yorker can get behind.”
New York State Assemblywoman Michaelle C. Solages said: “Helping governing bodies operate more efficiently is a win-win for both taxpayers and local government institutions. As Chair of the Assembly Committee on Local Governments, I welcome this $8 million investment to help municipalities work together and to make taxpayer dollars go further. I thank Governor Hochul and the Department of State for lowering costs for local governments across New York State.”
Awarded projects include:
Capital Region:
- City of Schenectady: $675,000 for the Code Enforcement Assistance Platform project.
- Partners: City of Albany and the Village of Richfield Springs.
- Village of Schuylerville: $35,922 for the Tri-Municipal Code Enforcement Modernization project.
- Partners: City of Mechanicville and the Village of Stillwater.
- Troy City School District: $144,143 for the Troy and Wynantskill School District Consolidation project.
- Partner: Wynantskill UFSD
- Warren County: $50,000 for the Emergency Medical Services Operations Efficiency Assessment.
- Partners: West Glens Falls, Warrensburg, Hague, Rockwell Falls, Glens Falls, Bolton, North Warren, Johnsburg, Stony Creek, Luzerne, Lake George, and Queensbury EMS.
Central New York:
- Cortland County: $929,490 for the Advanced Life Support ambulance service project.
- Partners : City of Cortland; Towns of Cuyler and Homer; Village of Homer; Virgil Fire, Cortlandville Fire District, and Marathon Area Volunteer Ambulance Corps.
Finger Lakes Region:
- Village of Trumansburg: $1,000,000 for the Trumansburg Fire and Emergency Medical Services Rehabilitation and Expansion project.
- Partners: Towns of Ulysses, Hector, and Covert.
- Wayne County: $195,000 for the Municipal Integration to County Enterprise GIS project.
- Partners: Towns of Arcadia, Butler, Galen, Huron, Lyons, Macedon, Marion, Ontario, Palmyra, Rose, Savannah, Sodus, Walworth, Williamson, and Wolcott; and Villages of Red Creek, Wolcott, Sodus, Newark, Clyde, and Palmyra.
- Livingston County: $50,000 for the Countywide Code Enforcement Study.
- Partners: Towns of Leicester, York, Caledonia, and Conesus; Villages of Dansville, Mount Morris, Livonia, and Caledonia; and Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council.
Long Island:
- Suffolk County: $906,500 for the Suffolk County Organic Waste Reduction project.
- Partners: Towns of Islip, Southampton, Brookhaven, Smithtown, East Hampton, Babylon, Riverhead, Southold, Huntington, Shetler Island, and Smithtown.
- Town of Southampton: $173,700 for the Regional Marine Operations Shared Services project.
- Partners: Villages of Sag Harbor, Westhampton Beach, and Southampton.
Mid-Hudson Region:
- Town of Warwick: $33,500 for the Police Consolidation Study.
- Partners: Villages of Florida, Greenwood Lake, and Warwick.
Mohawk Valley Region:
- Town of Whitestown: $25,500 for the Town of Whitestown and Village of Whitesboro Police Department Consolidation Study.
- Partner: Village of Whitesboro.
- City of Little Falls: $75,000 for the Centralized Water Treatment Plant Study.
- Partners: Towns of Herkimer and Little Falls; Villages of Herkimer, Dolgeville, and Ilion.
Southern Tier Region:
- Southern Tier East Regional Planning Board: $301,514 for the Broome-Tioga Stormwater Solutions project.
- Partners: City of Binghamton; the Towns of Binghamton, Chenango, Conklin, Dickinson; Kirkwood, Vestal, Owego, and Union; Villages of Endicott, Fenton, Johnson City, and Port Dickinson; Tioga and Broome Counties; and Broome County SWCD.
- Bradford Central School District: $34,700 for the Bradford Campbell-Savona School District Merger Study.
- Partners: Campbell-Savona Central School District, GST BOCES.
- Delaware Chenango Madison Otsego BOCES: $40,000 for the Deposit – Hancock School District Merger Study.
- Partners: Deposit Central School District, Hancock Central School District, BT BOCES.
- Chenango County: $50,000 for the Greater Norwich Water and Sewer Authority Efficiency Plan.
- Partners: Towns of Norwich and North Norwich; and City of Norwich.
- Town of Horseheads: $40,000 for the Horseheads Highway Garage Shared Services Study.
- Partner: Village of Horseheads.
Western New York Region:
- Erie County: $1,126,281 for the Strategic Debris Removal project.
- Partners: Cities of Buffalo and Tonawanda; Towns of Newstead, Clarence, Evans, Grand Island, Aurora, and Boston; the Villages of Lancaster and Kenmore; and the Seneca Nation.
- Village of Fredonia: $1,250,000 for the Fredonia Water System Improvements – Regional Interconnection project.
- Partners: Town of Pomfret, City of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, and the North Chautauqua County Water District.
- Town of Amherst: $250,000 for the Amherst & Williamsville Consolidated Development Services Technology project.
- Partner: Village of Williamsville.
- Bemus Point Central School District: $500,000 for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Decommissioning and Sewer Connection project.
- Partners: Chautauqua County South and Center Chautauqua Lake Sewer District.
- Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES: $31,250 for the Clymer Sherman Panama School District Merger Study.
- Partners: Clymer CSD, Sherman CSD, and Panama CSD.
- Town of Ripley: $45,000 for the Shared Animal Shelter Plan.
- Partners: Towns of Mina and Clymer.
- Town of Pomfret: $25,000 for the Shared Highway Department Feasibility Study
- Partners: Town of Dunkirk and Village of Fredonia.
New York State Association of Counties Executive Director Stephen J. Acquario said, “These grants support practical, forward-looking projects that help local governments work together, reduce costs, and deliver services more effectively for the people they serve. From emergency services and shared technology to infrastructure planning and environmental management, these investments demonstrate what local collaboration can accomplish. We thank Governor Hochul and the State Legislature for continuing to support these partnerships and investing in stronger, more efficient local governments across New York.”
NYS Conference of Mayors Executive Director Barbara Van Epps said, "NYCOM is pleased to see continued investment in the Local Government Efficiency Grant Program, which gives municipalities the resources to work together on practical solutions that improve services and make better use of taxpayer dollars. These grants support innovative partnerships across our cities, villages, towns and counties, helping local governments address shared challenges while finding efficiencies that will benefit their communities for years to come."
New York Association of Towns Executive Director Christopher A. Koetzle said, “The New York Association of Towns (NYAOT) commends all of the towns, villages, cities and counties that are working together to save valuable taxpayer dollars by solving shared problems with shared solutions. The funding from this program is instrumental to our members as they continue to deliver the critical services and programs New York State residents deserve and expect. We thank the Department of State for its continuing support of the Local Government Efficiency Grant program.”
In this round, priority scoring points were awarded to applications that included one or more of five target functions set by DOS, including: information technology services including cybersecurity; emergency management services; shared code enforcement and planning; water and wastewater management; and clean energy initiatives. Applications implementing a previous LGEG planning project or inclusion in a previously adopted or pending Countywide Shared Services Initiative Plan also received priority. All awards are reimbursement grants.
Applications are evaluated based on the potential return on investment, project need, service delivery benefits, operational changes, local and regional capacity, project readiness (ability to complete the project in 5 years) and the comprehensiveness and specificity of the work plan and budget. In the last five years, DOS has made 178 project awards through its local government efficiency program opportunities, totaling nearly $42 million in award funding.
Eligible Local Government entities are counties, cities, towns, villages, special improvement districts, fire districts, public libraries, association libraries, public library systems (if they advance a joint application on behalf of member libraries), water authorities, sewer authorities, regional planning and development boards, school districts, and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services.
Local Government Efficiency Grants may be used to cover costs integral to project implementation including but not limited to legal and consultant services, capital improvements and equipment, and transitional personnel costs not to exceed three years.
A new Request for Applications (RFA) for the next round of awards is expected in the coming weeks.
About the Local Government Efficiency Grant
The LGEG grant program is administered by the Division of Local Government Services within the Department of State. The Division provides technical assistance and competitive grants to local governments. For more information on LGEG or any programs administered by the Division, please contact localgov@dos.ny.gov or call 518 473-3355
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