Application Process Now Open for County’s
Municipal Innovation Grant Program
Poughkeepsie… Dutchess County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro has announced applications are now being accepted for the County’s 2017 Municipal Innovation Grant Program, which makes $1 million available to help communities innovate and partner with each other in an effort to save money and reduce the property tax levy, while maintaining or improving the quality of service they provide to their constituents.
County Executive Molinaro made the announcement last week at the Municipal Innovation Summit, which brought together more than 60 municipal leaders and county officials for presentations and discussions centering around municipal innovation. The summit provided an opportunity for communities to begin conversations about their needs and the ways they can partner with one another or the county.
County Executive Molinaro said, “Dutchess County has been a leader in shared services throughout New York. Our municipal leaders set the example Albany might learn from. Our innovative approach has already resulted in extraordinary and ground-breaking advancements throughout our county. We’ve consolidated communication tools between law enforcement agencies, offered land use assistance and supported shared assessors, to name a few of our tax-savings initiatives. Our Municipal Innovation Grant Program continues bringing about shared services, new efficiencies and cost savings. Ironically, as Albany mandates a top-down bureaucratic approach, our municipalities partner to implement new, inventive ways to improve services lessening the burden of property taxes. Our Municipal Innovation Grant is part of our ongoing efforts to share services and save tax dollars – through respect and partnership, we are leading the way.”
The 2017 Municipal Innovation Grant Program will have three focus areas under which municipalities can apply – Criminal Justice/Law Enforcement, Land Use/Economic Development and General Innovation. Additionally, grant proposals must concentrate their efforts on one of six sub-categories: Shared Services, Consolidation, Regional Delivery of Services, Dissolution of a Layer of Government, Other Efficiency Improvements, or Planning and/or Implementation.
The deadline for application is noon on Friday, May 19, 2017. The application and instructions can be found on the Planning and Development webpage. If you have questions, please contact Christie Bonomo, Community Investment Program Specialist, at (845) 486-2549.
Started in 2013, Dutchess County’s Municipal Innovation Grant Program has spurred such successful programs as shared assessor services, a partnership between the towns of Beekman and Dover; the John Jay sewer improvement area engineering and construction, a collaboration between the Town of East Fishkill and the Wappinger Central School District; and tri-municipal wastewater treatment system upgrades, a project on which the towns of Poughkeepsie and Wappinger, as well as the Village of Wappingers Falls partnered, among others.
Town of Hyde Park Supervisor Aileen Rohr, President of the Dutchess County Supervisors and Mayors Association, said, “Municipalities throughout Dutchess County, and their residents, have greatly benefited from the County’s Municipal Innovation Grant Program. We look forward to future collaborations through the program that will bring about more innovative practices that result in savings for our residents.”
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Sean T. McMann
Communications Specialist
Dutchess County Government
22 Market Street
Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
Phone: (845) 486-2000 Fax: (845) 486-2021
email: smcmann@dutchessny.gov
