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Suffolk County Shared Services Plan Table of ContentsI.II.III.IV.V.VI.History of Shared Services in Suffolk CountyShared Services as a Function of the County CharterSamples of Current Shared Services County EffortsSamples of Local Municipal EffortsSuffolk County Shared Services Processa. Subcommitteesb. Community Meetingsc. Email Communications & Online Surveysd. Rockland Countye. Public Hearingsf. Collective Bargaining Unitsg. Suffolk County Village Officials Association and East End OfficialsSuffolkShare1. Virtual Municipal Service Store2. Inter-Municipal Services3. Inter-Municipal Agreement4. Certification Audit Process5. Data Analysis6. MuniChat7. Shared Services Newsletter8. Intra-County Projects Program9. Inter-County Projects Program10. Office of Inter-municipal CoordinationVII. Services Offered by Towns, Villages and The CountyVIII. Estimated Savings AnalysisPage 1 of 18
I.History of Shared Services in Suffolk CountySuffolk County has a long history of shared services among municipalities. Often, theseinitiatives have been memorialized in contracts known as Inter-municipal agreements.Inter-municipal sharing and cooperation has been a touchstone in many communities hereby virtue of the unique aspects of Suffolk County. There have been times, during andfollowing emergencies, where municipalities have joined together to share resources inorder to protect lives and recover more quickly from disaster.Here are some examples: During the 1940s and 1950s, several school districts in Suffolk County agreed toshare the services of a school psychologist. According to a Dec. 2, 1956 story inThe New York Times, “Individually these schools could not afford and did notneed a full-time psychologist. However, by banding together they were able tohire (a psychologist) and offer their students a service available in the largerschools nearer to New York City.” In 1961, various public libraries in Suffolk County began collaboration under theSuffolk Cooperative Library System. Since, dozens of public libraries have sharedbooks and resources among each other to better serve their patrons. As a matter of routine, towns and villages have on numerous occasions sharedresponsibility for maintaining highways and streets. In the early 1960s, police departments in the five towns in the western half ofSuffolk County consolidated into one police district to better serve and protect thepublic. The SCPD currently shares resources with the five town policedepartments in the eastern half of Suffolk County, including detectives andtechnical proficiency. More recently, towns and villages have shared services, resources and capabilitiesto address damages in the wake of natural disasters, such as Superstorm Sandy. Most shared services throughout the county’s history have been far less dramatic,borne of practicalities faced by our towns, villages and Suffolk Countygovernment, and enacted to simply provide better services to residents and makeSuffolk County a better place to live.Page 2 of 18
II.Shared Services as a Function of the County CharterThe County Executive has stated that the county will pursue, in the coming year, a reviewof and possible revisions to the county charter.This effort will include charter and code revisions to facilitate and institutionalize theshared service framework to the extent that the county executive and the countylegislature deem such appropriate.Page 3 of 18
III.Samples of Current County Shared Service EffortsThe inventory of shared services in which county departments are engaged include, but isnot limited to: Emergency Management The Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescueand Emergency Services has facilitated, and maintains: The Suffolk CountyHazard Mitigation Plan, The Suffolk County Debris Management Plan, andthe County Emergency Management Plan. These plans have been developedwith all towns and villages in Suffolk County, in addition to the Shinnecockand Unkechaug tribal nations.Human Services/Senior Services The Suffolk County Executive’s Office ofCommunity Services, as well as the Office for the Aging, maintain intermunicipal agreements with all towns and several villages. The Office ofCommunity Services provides pass-through funding for Youth Servicesprograms to municipalities in Suffolk County; the Office for the Aging,through its agreements with all 10 towns, provides no-cost leases of vehiclesfor senior transportation, pass-through funding for nutrition programs, minorhome repairs, as well as providing direct case management.Highway Maintenance The Suffolk County Department of Public Works(SCDPW) maintains agreements with multiple municipalities throughout thecounty with respect to highway maintenance. In some instances, SCDPWprovides maintenance for municipalities; in others, the municipalities providehighway services for SCDPW.Economic Development and Planning The Suffolk County Department ofEconomic Development and Planning (EDP) provides pass-through fundingof Community Development Block Grants to nine out of the 10 towns inSuffolk County. It also acts as a resource on planning issues for partnermunicipalities.Suffolk County Police Department The Suffolk County Police Department(SCPD) provides assistance, as needed, to the five East End town policedepartments, as well as to a number of village police departments situated intowns in the Police District. In addition, SCPD provides detective services tothe police departments in the East End towns.The Suffolk County Real Property Tax Agency The agency currently hasGIS License Agreements with about two dozen municipal partners, as well asnon-government entities.200 Total Inter-municipal Agreements with towns and villages.Page 4 of 18
IV.Samples of Local Municipal Efforts The Town of Smithtown In 2014, New York State provided the Town ofSmithtown with more than 300,000 in grants under its Local GovernmentEfficiency Shared Services program in conjunction with the creation of aregional shared fuel facility. This facility is shared with villages in the town,and the town continues to make outreach to public school districts within thetown to take part in this program.The Town of Brookhaven In 2017, the Town of Brookhaven began a pilotprogram to take over the tax billing services for the Village of Bellport, whichis located within the town. Under this pilot program, the Town mails propertytax bills to residents of Bellport, and accepts payment for the village therebyeliminating “back office” costs for the village associated with this task.The Village of Sag Harbor The Village of Sag Harbor maintains sharedservices agreements with two towns, two villages and Suffolk County. WithTown of East Hampton, it maintains an agreement for fire and ambulanceprotection, street lighting and animal control; with the Village of EastHampton it has agreements for as well as police, fire and ambulancedispatching, animal control, street lighting and cooperative purchasing; withthe Town of Southampton, Sag Harbor has agreements on shared computerservices, assessing and electrical inspection services; with the Village ofNorth Haven it maintains a Harbor Master Agreement.The final draft will include additional examples of past and present intermunicipal sharing of services.School Districts Under the statute, public school districts are not required to participatein the county-wide shared services initiative. Upon initiation of the plan’s development inSuffolk County, all public school districts were invited to participate and several schooldistricts took part in varying degrees. Eastern Suffolk BOCES in particular, hosted ahighly informative meeting with the team.Many school districts provided examples of shared services initiatives in which theyalready participate, including: The South Country School District This district maintains agreements withthe William Floyd School District including shared bus agreements totransport students to private schools; as well as other agreements forpurchasing, energy management and health insurance;The Sachem Central School District The district is part of the BOCEScooperative bidding program, and “piggybacks” on Suffolk Countypurchasing;The Hampton Bays Union Free School District The district shares a LifeSkills program with special education students from East Quogue and OysterPonds school districts.Page 5 of 18
The Deer Park Union Free School District The district has a contract withthe Town of Babylon for carting.Eastern Suffolk BOCES provides shared services to 51 school districtsacross an area nearly 1,000 square miles.Page 6 of 18
V.Suffolk County Shared Services ProcessTo enact an open, productive and inclusive process required under the statute,representatives of Suffolk County and its towns and villages met on numerous occasionsover the past 100 days.The initial meeting of panel members was conducted in two parts, at two locations, onMay 15 in Riverhead and May 17 in Hauppauge, to accommodate the geographic needsof panel members.a. SubcommitteesTo fully explore the potential, new shared service opportunities between municipalities inSuffolk County as identified under the statute, officials from participating municipalitiesagreed to partake in four different subcommittees.These subcommittees were designed to explore not just potential new shared serviceprograms, but also to resolve outstanding issues of codifying these agreements betweenmunicipalities, as well as certifying savings as required under the law.A total of four subcommittees were formed:1. The Programming Subcommittee was tasked with reviewing the catalog of existingshared services between municipalities, as well as exploring other potential areas for newprograms or expansion of existing programs.2. The Technology Subcommittee was formed to examine process and formulation of anonline, shared services portal. It was agreed that this portal would be conceived tofacilitate: communications between municipalities; allow the public a view of existing,ongoing and projected efforts; descriptions, offering and acceptance of services;availability of equipment and goods between municipalities.This portal would also provide a business analytics capability that would allow analysisof shared series opportunities, costs and tracking of performance relative to actualprojects and services. The portal (SuffolkShare), from a performance monitoringperspective, would build upon the existing Suffolk County “STAT” and BusinessIntelligence platforms by providing the ability to define, monitor and track progress ofkey performance indicators (KPI’s) over multi period timeframes. Tracking standardizedKPI’s will allow each municipality to understand all shared service operations withrelevant and current data that describes how well the services are performing relative toexpectations. This analysis will allow modifications of operations and programs to ensurethat taxpayers are getting the maximum benefit of shared service arrangements relative tostrategic, mission-driven indicators. It will also enable a certification function comprisedof an auditing process that will identify and quantify savings achieved by the use of theshared services program.Page 7 of 18
In short the portal will facilitate open communication – including real-time group andpartner-to-partner chat (MuniChat) - throughout Suffolk County, support a framework todiscuss and monitor performance and set the stage for a continuous improvement processwhereby municipalities will uncover and understand better the ways in which serviceprovision can be improved.3. The Legal Subcommittee was formed to determine the format of a series of standardInter-municipal agreements that would constitute various and required legal agreementsbetween providers.4. The Finance Subcommittee was formed to provide a framework under whichmunicipalities could determine and certify existing cost structures and savings achievedthrough the establishment of Shared services programs.b. Community MeetingsBy statute, the CEO of each county was required to conduct no fewer than three publichearings following submission of the plan to the County legislative body. However, tofurther facilitate discussion of shared services prior to submission of the plan, fourpreplan community meetings were held during the month of July.On July 10, meetings were conducted in the towns of East Hampton and Southampton.On July 11, a community meeting was held in the Town of Babylon. The last meetingwas conducted in the town of Huntington on July 18. Many of the public meetings heldthroughout July were also broadcast on local public access stations. The three requiredpublic hearings will be held in towns other than where the public meetings were held.In aggregate, these community meetings included attendance from a combination of bothlocal municipal officials and members of the public. During the meeting in EastHampton, for example, two residents provided public comments stating that they wisheda Shared Services Initiative would including school districts–as school taxes make upapproximately 70 percent of property tax bills on Long Island.In general, municipal officials that presented their thoughts and suggestions at thesemeetings stated that they believed in the basic mission of the shared services statute: tocreate more efficiency across governments and provide property taxpayer relief.c. Email Communication & Online SurveysAt the outset of this process, The county executive staff SSI working group created ashared service email address, communicated with representatives of all 10 towns and 33villages – informing them of the process and seeking information from each municipalityon existing or prior shared services each had enacted.Page 8 of 18
d. Rockland CountyOn July 20, representatives from Suffolk County met with representatives of RocklandCounty to discuss shared services issues and in particular cooperative purchasing asengaged by Rockland and its adjacent counties. In particular, Rockland participates in apurchasing cooperative with six counties.It may be productive to explore entry into this type of cooperative in the future.e. Public HearingsIn compliance with the statute, public hearings will be scheduled in late August and earlySeptember.f. Collective Bargaining UnitsThe statute directs: “In the development of the county-wide shared services property taxsavings plan, the chief executive officer of the county shall regularly consult with, andtake recommendations from, all the representatives of the shared services panel, as wellas with and from the representative of each collective bargaining unit of the county andthe cities, towns, and villages as well as from the representative of each collectivebargaining unit of any participating school district, board of cooperative educationalservices and special improvement district.”The Suffolk County Executive’s Office thus conducted discussions with officers of theCivil Service Employees Association (CSEA), which represents employees of multipletown and village governments within the county, as well as the Suffolk CountyAssociation of Municipal Employees (SCAME), which represents the largest group ofSuffolk County government employees. The Suffolk County SSI plan will includelanguage to be added to intermunicipal and collective bargaining agreements that aresatisfactory to the respective collective bargaining units.g. Suffolk County Village Officials Association and East End OfficialsThe SSI director met with the President of the Suffolk County Village OfficialsAssociation along with SCVOA board members and staff to discuss the plan andconcerns of the SCVOA.Additionally, the SSI director and county executive staff conducted presentations to theEast End Chambers of Commerce Association and the East End Supervisors and MayorsAssociation.Page 9 of 18
VI.SuffolkShare - Suffolk County's 10 Point SSI Plana. Virtual Municipal Service Store. A web portal that shall serve as a virtualstore where a menu of municipal services and assets will be available toparticipating municipalities interested in acquiring services offered.b. Inter-Municipal Services. An assortment of services and assets will beoffered to and from participating municipalities. Services will include: the useof specialty equipment and vehicles (graffiti trucks, water trucks, sweepers,bucket trucks, salt brine equipment, etc.); use of traditional and alternativefueling stations; pump out boat and other marina related services; road andparking lot resurfacing; grant writing; truck washing; recycling, sign shopservices, language translation, surveying, mapping, website development, GISservices, professional training, MWBE certification, and much, much more.c. Inter-Municipal Agreement. An all-encompassing Inter-MunicipalAgreement (IMA) authorizing municipal participation in this program andaccess to the web portal as well as templates for additional intermunicipalagreements for the use and procurement of various services and equipment.4. Certification Audit Process. A certification function comprised of anauditing process that will identify and quantify savings achieved by the use ofthe shared services program.5. Data Analysis. A Data Analysis feature similar to a Customer ManagementSystem (CMS) that will measure use, performance, and savings. In essence,the CMS will provide a business analytics capability that would allow analysisof shared series opportunities, costs and tracking of performance relative toactual projects and services. The portal (SuffolkShare), from a performancemonitoring perspective, would build upon the existing Suffolk County“STAT” and Business Intelligence platforms by providing the ability todefine, monitor and track progress of key performance indicators (KPI’s) overmulti period timeframes. Tracking standardized KPI’s will allow eachmunicipality to understand all shared service operations with relevant andcurrent data that describes how well the services are performing relative toexpectations. This analysis will allow modifications of operations andprograms to ensure that taxpayers are getting the maximum benefit of sharedservice arrangements relative to strategic, mission-driven indicators.6. MuniChat. A virtual intermunicipal chat room for municipal representativesto engage one another individually or collectively to acquire information,share information, brainstorm, and highlight success stories.7. Shared Services Newsletter. A virtual newsletter that will feature successfulshared service ideas while providing insight into how to utilize the web portal,virtual municipal store, and all of the features of Suffolk Share.8. Intra-County Projects Program.a. Senior Servicesi. Develop a comprehensive umbrella senior citizen program thatbuilds upon the multiple intermunicipal agreements for seniorcitizen programming and funding that presently exist today.Page 10 of 18
b.c.d.e.f.g.h.ii. Include and augment access to health care, social workersupport services, transportation to medical visits, visiting nurseservices, food and nutrition programs, handyman assistance,physical fitness and social programming, etc.Youth Servicesi. Develop a comprehensive umbrella youth services programthat builds upon the multiple intermunicipal agreements foryouth programming and funding that presently exist today.ii. Include and augment access to anti-gang and anti-drugprogramming, recreational opportunities, education andtraining services, transportation assistance, etc.Recycling Servicesi. Expand municipal recycling efforts through the use ofmunicipal recycling centers in towns that host such facilities.ii. Partner with schools to create comprehensive school recyclingprogram consistent with recycling obligations under state law.Procurement Consortiumi. Purchasing cooperative would allow municipal partners topurchase larger quantities when combined thus creating morebargaining power when entering into annual agreements forpurchases of goods, equipment and/or services.1. Best Value. Municipal partners may create a BestValue framework for the purchasing group. A BestValue award allows a municipality to optimize quality,cost and efficiency, and is quantifiable when possible.In this case, costs are distinguished from price. Thesecosts can include life-cycle costs, dirruption costs,workforce costs, etc., and embody price. To facilitatethis framework, municipal partners may be required toenact Best Value local laws to authorize this activity.2. Joint Purchasing Subcommittee. To manage and directthe purchasing group, it may be necessary to create aJoint Purchasing Subcommittee to make procurementdecisions and policies.Wateri. Increased partnership with water authority and districts.ii. Engage in waterway maintenance and nitrogen removalprojects.Emergency Managementi. Expand upon intermunicipal coordination relating toemergency management.ii. Coordinate intermunicipal acquisition and maintenance ofemergency equipment.Healthcare Consortiumi. Explore cost-sharing relating to municipal health benefits.OtherPage 11 of 18
9. Inter-County Project Programa. Health Department Servicesi. Share resources and information through expanded agreementswith neighboring countiesii. Combine purchasing and procurement efforts to achievesavings through economies of scale.b. County Jail and Adolescent Offender Servicesi. Create working committee with neighboring county jails tofind efficiencies and purchasing and operations.ii. Utilize or share assets with neighboring county jail.iii. Work with neighboring counties in implementation of theRaise the Age law.c. Emergency Managementi. Work with neighboring counties in regard do emergencymanagement efforts.ii. Share resources through intermunicipal agreements withneighboring counties.d. Other10. Office of Intermunicipal Coordination. An assignment of personnel tohandle intermunicipal activity and communications (achieved through thereassignment of current positions) who will administer Suffolk Share whilecoordinating monthly subcommittee meetings similar to those initiated as partof the Shared Service Working Group as set forth below:a. Legalb. Auditing and Controlc. Tech and Datad. Program Offerings and DevelopmentTo facilitate creation of the portal, Suffolk County Department of InformationTechnology (SCDOIT) applied for a New York State Local Government Efficiencygrant. All of Suffolk County’s 10 towns have provided letters of support endorsingSCDOIT’s grant application.Page 12 of 18
VII.Services Offered by Towns, Villages and The CountyInitial SuffolkShare web portal offeringsMunicipality providing servicesVillage of Ocean BeachService/Equipment AvailableWater Excess ServicesTown of SouthamptonTown of Shelter IslandResponsive website development for smart phones,tablets, computers (aid in the development of Countywide or Town applications geared toward the mobileenvironment)GIS Services (digitizing spatial data, map creation,reporting, analysis, etc.)Pump-out boat servicesTown of RiverheadCooperative purchase or piggyback for FLYTTpumps, chemicals, light duty truck (4'-6' beds)Town of RiverheadScavenger waste acceptance (Riverhead scavengerwaste plan can accept waste at times when BergenPoint is at or near capacity)Town of SouthamptonTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadCooperative purchase or piggyback for policeuniforms, flares, first aid kits, form ticketsCooperative service for crime scene clean up andmotor vehicle records access servicesJoint Municipal Community Improvement Projects(utilization of municipally owned, vacant properties byother municipalities)Town gas pumpsTown of RiverheadAutomotive repair (including heavy duty forklight/hoists for nearly all required truck repair)Town of RiverheadTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadCooperative purchase or piggyback for salt and brineSnow blower (5,000 tons per hour)16 yard sanderRoll-off truck 30 yards with dumpsterSkid steer with 3/4 yard bucketBull dozer with 2/5 yard bucketPayloader with 3 yard bucketTown of RiverheadTown of RiverheadPage 13 of 18
Town of RiverheadTown of IslipTown of IslipTown of IslipCooperative purchase or piggyback for pesticides,commercial grade mowers, items relate to the Town'sannual asphalt/construction procurement contractCooperative purchase or piggyback of generatormaintenance services, water meter system and waterbilling systemTree removal/trimmingSign shop services (sign production)Pump-out boat servicesTown of IslipTown of IslipTown of East HamptonGraffiti removal truck and related equipmentAccess to Town fueling stationsSign shop services (sign production)Town of East HamptonTown of East HamptonTown of BrookhavenTown of BrookhavenTown of BrookhavenExpansion of fuel facility (Sag Harbor Village andEast Hampton School District ONLY)Cooperative food biddingSingle Stream RecyclingOutlook 365 Cloud ServicesFueling StationsTown of BrookhavenAssessment services (including the acquisition andanalysis of sales data for all residential andcommercial properties in each Village for use indeveloping the annual NYS equalization rates andassessment ratios, and the completion of annualassessment state reports to be forwarded to the Officeof Real Property Services Division of the NYS Dept.of Taxation and Finance)Town of BrookhavenTax collection services (including the development ofa custom tax collection and payment processing userportal, as well as the issuance of tax bills, the receiptof payments and the depositing of funds on behalf ofVillages)Town of BrookhavenTown of BrookhavenSuffolk County Water AuthorityTruck wash facility (to be located at the Town'sCentral Highway Facility on Old Town Road, Coram)Disposal of Street SweepingsWater testingTown of RiverheadPage 14 of 18
Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and EmergencyServicesSuffolk County Fire, Rescue and EmergencyServicesMedical products purchasingDistance learning for certain first respondersSuffolk County Department of Public WorksMail servicesSuffolk County Department of Public WorksFuel purchasing servicesSuffolk County Department of Public WorksSuffolk County Department of InformationTechnologySuffolk County Department of InformationTechnologySuffolk County Department of InformationTechnologySuffolk County Department of InformationTechnologySuffolk County Department of InformationTechnologyAsphalt and soft purchasesSuffolk County Department of Health ServicesFood services education appSuffolk County Department of Health ServicesSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &Drilling servicesWebsite developmentGIS ServicesDisaster recoveryDesktop/help deskData centersTransportation planningSurveying servicesSuffolk County Planning Federation trainingSEQRA TrainingRenewable energy consultingNationalDevelopmentCouncilDevelopment Finance AdvisingMaster planningMap preparation and printingEnvironmental Site AssessmentsEconomic Impact Analyses (project specific)Congress for New Urbanism trainingPage 15 of 18Economic
PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Dept. of Economic Development &PlanningSuffolk County Community ServicesSuffolk County Community ServicesSuffolk County Police DepartmentSuffolk County Police DepartmentAppraisal servicesAccess to pre-qualified planning consultantsMWBE certificationLanguage accessibility programsComputer Aided Dispatch (CAD) software sharing911 Dispatch ServicesPage 16 of 18
VIII. Estimated Savings AnalysisThe savings estimate in this draft plan is based on proposed new programs that haveemerged and continue to become available through this process. Below are examples ofhow savings will be identified.The Town of East Hampton Joint purchase of emergency radio equipment for the Town, Village of EastHampton and Village of Sag Harbor (in addition to fire districts), which willproduce a savings of approximately 2.3 million.A potential bus facility and fuel agreement between the Town of EastHampton, Village of East Hampton and Sag Harbor Union Free Schooldistrict, which will produce a savings of approximately 400,000.The Town of Brookhaven Tax Collection services for villages within the Town of Brookhaven, whichwill amount to first-year savings of approximately 106,000.Consolidation of Assessment Services for villages within the Town ofBrookhaven, which will amount to first-year savings of approximately 52,000.Use of the Town’s Asphalt Contract by villages within the Town ofBrookhaven, which will amount to first-year savings of 440,000.Town-wide LED conversion of approximately 40,000 streetlights, which willamount to first-year savings of approximately 1.4 million.Construction of two truck-wash facilities, to be used by other municipalities,for first-year shared savings valued at approximately 230,000.Construction of a new Record Storage Center and digitization of vital recordsinto an Electronic Content Management System, for first-year savings ofapproximately 800,000.The total of first-year savings of these projects initiated by Town ofBrookhaven is approximately 3 million.Suffolk CountySuffolk County intends to participate in the shared purchasing cooperative underSuffolkShare. Using methodologies developed by the U.S. GovernmentAccountability Office, it is estimated that municipal partners in Suffolk Countywill attain two-year savings in procurement costs of approximately 27 million.In
Jul 31, 2017 · Rockland County e. Public Hearings f. Collective Bargaining Units g. Suffolk County Village Officials Association and East End Officials VI. SuffolkShare . hire (a psychologist) and offer their students a service available in the larger schools nearer to New York City.” In 1961, various public libraries i
