N.Y. Gen. Mun. Law § 239-bb

§ 239-bb. County-wide shared services panels. 1. Definitions. The\nfollowing terms shall have the following meanings for the purposes of\nthis article:\n a. "County" shall mean any county not wholly contained within a city.\n b. "County CEO" shall mean the county executive, county manager or\nother chief executive of the county, or, where none, the chair of the\ncounty legislative body.\n c. "Panel" shall mean a county-wide shared services panel established\npursuant to subdivision two of this section.\n d. "Plan" shall mean a county-wide shared services property tax\nsavings plan.\n 2. County-wide shared services panels. a. There shall be a county-wide\nshared services panel in each county consisting of the county CEO, and\none representative from each city, town and village in the county. The\nchief executive officer of each town, city and village shall be the\nrepresentative to a panel and shall be the mayor, if a city or a\nvillage, or shall be the supervisor, if a town. The county CEO shall\nserve as chair. All panels established in each county pursuant to part\nBBB of chapter fifty-nine of the laws of two thousand seventeen, and\nprior to the enactment of this article, shall continue in satisfaction\nof this section in such form as they were established, provided that the\ncounty CEO may alter the membership of the panel consistent with\nparagraph b of this subdivision.\n b. The county CEO may invite any school district, board of cooperative\neducational services, fire district, fire protection district, or\nspecial improvement district in the county to join a panel. Upon such\ninvitation, the governing body of such school district, board of\ncooperative educational services, fire district, fire protection\ndistrict, or other special district may accept such invitation by\nselecting a representative of such governing body, by majority vote, to\nserve as a member of the panel. Such school district, board of\ncooperative educational services, fire district, fire protection\ndistrict or other special district shall maintain such representation\nuntil the panel either approves a plan or transmits a statement to the\nsecretary of state on the reason the panel did not approve a plan,\npursuant to paragraph d of subdivision seven of this section. Upon\napproval of a plan or a transmission of a statement to the secretary of\nstate that a panel did not approve a plan in any calendar year, the\ncounty CEO may, but need not, invite any school district, board of\ncooperative educational services, fire district, fire protection\ndistrict or special improvement district in the county to join a panel\nthereafter convened.\n 3. a. Each county CEO shall, after satisfying the requirements of part\nBBB of chapter fifty-nine of the laws of two thousand seventeen,\nannually convene the panel and shall undertake to revise and update a\npreviously approved plan or alternatively develop a new plan through\nDecember thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one. Such plans shall contain\nnew, recurring property tax savings resulting from actions such as, but\nnot limited to, the elimination of duplicative services; shared services\narrangements including, joint purchasing, shared highway equipment,\nshared storage facilities, shared plowing services and energy and\ninsurance purchasing cooperatives; reducing back office and\nadministrative overhead; and better coordinating services. The secretary\nof state may provide advice and/or recommendations on the form and\nstructure of such plans.\n b. After having convened at least two meetings in a calendar year, a\npanel may, by majority vote, determine that it is not in the best\ninterest of the taxpayers to revise and update a previously approved\nplan or to develop a new plan in such year. The county CEO of such panel\nshall then comply with the provisions of paragraph (d) of subdivision\nseven of this section.\n 4. While revising or updating a previously approved plan, or while\ndeveloping a new plan, the county CEO shall regularly consult with, and\ntake recommendations from, the representatives: on the panel; of each\ncollective bargaining unit of the county and the cities, towns, and\nvillages; and of each collective bargaining unit of any participating\nschool district, board of cooperative educational services, fire\ndistrict, fire protection district, or special improvement district.\n 5. The county CEO, the county legislative body and a panel shall\naccept input from the public, civic, business, labor and community\nleaders on any proposed plan. The county CEO shall cause to be conducted\na minimum of three public hearings prior to submission of a plan to a\nvote of a panel. All such public hearings shall be conducted within the\ncounty, and public notice of all such hearings shall be provided at\nleast one week prior in the manner prescribed in subdivision one of\nsection one hundred four of the public officers law. Civic, business,\nlabor, and community leaders, as well as members of the public, shall be\npermitted to provide public testimony at any such hearings.\n 6. a. The county CEO shall submit each plan, accompanied by a\ncertification as to the accuracy of the savings contained therein, to\nthe county legislative body at least forty-five days prior to a vote by\nthe panel.\n b. The county legislative body shall review and consider each plan\nsubmitted in accordance with paragraph a of this subdivision. A majority\nof the members of such body may issue an advisory report on each plan,\nmaking recommendations as deemed necessary. The county CEO may modify a\nplan based on such recommendations, which shall include an updated\ncertification as to the accuracy of the savings contained therein.\n 7. a. A panel shall duly consider any plan properly submitted to the\npanel by the county CEO and may approve such plan by a majority vote of\nthe panel. Each member of a panel may, prior to the panel-wide vote,\ncause to be removed from a plan any proposed action affecting the unit\nof government represented by the respective member. Written notice of\nsuch removal shall be provided to the county CEO prior to a panel-wide\nvote on a plan.\n b. Plans approved by a panel shall be transmitted to the secretary of\nstate no later than thirty days from the date of approval by a panel\naccompanied by a certification as to the accuracy of the savings\naccompanied therein, and shall be publicly disseminated to residents of\nthe county in a concise, clear, and coherent manner using words with\ncommon and everyday meaning.\n c. The county CEO shall conduct a public presentation of any approved\nplan no later than thirty days from the date of approval by a panel.\nPublic notice of such presentation shall be provided at least one week\nprior in the manner prescribed in subdivision one of section one hundred\nfour of the public officers law.\n d. Beginning in two thousand twenty, by January fifteenth following\nany calendar year during which a panel did not approve a plan and\ntransmit such plan to the secretary of state pursuant to paragraph b of\nthis subdivision, the county CEO of such panel shall release to the\npublic and transmit to the secretary of state a statement explaining why\nthe panel did not approve a plan that year, including, for each vote on\na plan, the vote taken by each panel member and an explanation by each\npanel member of their vote.\n 8. For each county, new shared services actions not included in a\npreviously approved and submitted plan pursuant to this section or part\nBBB of chapter fifty-nine of the laws of two thousand seventeen, may be\neligible for funding to match savings from such action, subject to\navailable appropriation. Savings that are actually and demonstrably\nrealized by the participating local governments are eligible for\nmatching funding. For actions that are part of an approved plan\ntransmitted to the secretary of state in accordance with paragraph b of\nsubdivision seven of this section, savings achieved from January first\nthrough December thirty-first from new actions implemented on or after\nJanuary first through December thirty-first of the year immediately\nfollowing an approved and transmitted plan may be eligible for matching\nfunding. Only net savings between local governments for each action\nwould be eligible for matching funding. Savings from internal\nefficiencies or any other action taken by a local government without the\nparticipation of another local government are not eligible for matching\nfunding. Each county and all of the local governments within the county\nthat are part of any action to be implemented as part of an approved\nplan must collectively apply for the matching funding and agree on the\ndistribution and use of any matching funding in order to qualify for\nmatching funding.\n 9. The department of state shall prepare a report to the governor, the\ntemporary president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly on the\ncounty-wide shared services plans approved by the county-wide shared\nservices panels created pursuant to part BBB of chapter fifty-nine of\nthe laws of two thousand seventeen and this article and shall post the\nreport on the department's website. Such report shall be provided on or\nbefore June thirtieth, two thousand twenty-two and shall include, but\nnot be limited to, the following:\n a. a detailed summary of projects included in county-wide shared\nservices plans by category, such as:\n (1) public health and insurance;\n (2) emergency services;\n (3) sewer, water, and waste management systems;\n (4) energy procurement and efficiency;\n (5) parks and recreation;\n (6) education and workforce training;\n (7) law and courts;\n (8) shared equipment, personnel, and services;\n (9) joint purchasing;\n (10) governmental reorganization;\n (11) transportation and highway departments; and\n (12) records management and administrative functions.\n b. for each of the counties the following information:\n (1) a detailed summary of each of the savings plans, including\nrevisions and updates submitted each year or the statement explaining\nwhy the county did not approve a plan in any year;\n (2) the anticipated savings for each plan;\n (3) the number of cities, towns and villages in the county;\n (4) the number of cities, towns and villages that participated in a\npanel, as reported in a plan;\n (5) the number of school districts, boards of cooperative educational\nservices, fire districts, fire protection districts, or other special\ndistricts in the county; and\n (6) the number of school districts, boards of cooperative educational\nservices, fire districts, fire protection districts, or other special\ndistricts that participated in a panel, as reported in a plan.\n 10. The secretary of state may solicit, and the panels may provide at\nher or his request, advice and recommendations concerning matters\nrelated to the operations of local governments and shared services\ninitiatives, including, but not limited to, making recommendations\nregarding grant proposals incorporating elements of shared services,\ngovernment dissolutions, government and service consolidations, or\nproperty taxes and such other grants where the secretary deems the input\nof the panels to be in the best interest of the public. The panel shall\nadvance such advice or recommendations by a vote of the majority of the\nmembers present at such meeting.\n 11. The authority granted by this article to a county CEO to convene a\npanel for the purpose of revising or updating a previously approved\nplan, or developing a new plan, or to provide the secretary of state\ninformation pursuant to subdivision ten of this section, shall cease on\nDecember thirty-first, two thousand twenty-one.\n