The Chautauqua County Water and Wastewater Cooperative will receive $44,545 from New York state.

The cooperative has yet to be created, so the state grant will help pay to work with local government partners to establish Chautauqua Region Water and Wastewater Cooperative to address challenges confronting small municipal systems by pooling resources, including shared operators.

“Receiving this Municipal Restructuring Fund grant will be a game-changer for Chautauqua County’s local water and sewer districts,” said County Executive George Borrello. “It will enable us to develop an intermunicipal water and wastewater cooperative among 17 partner communities to stabilize staffing and generate long-term savings through shared equipment and purchasing. I thank Governor Cuomo and our partners at the Department of State for helping us advance this innovative project and continuing to champion local government efficiency efforts.”

The county project is one of 12 projects impacting 45 localities across New York getting money from the Municipal Restructuring Fund that will streamline the delivery of local services and reduce future costs to local taxpayers. The projects address general government consolidation, as well as local government functions including public safety, infrastructure and health insurance. The 12 initiatives will impact more than 45 local governments and lead to an estimated $126 million in savings over 10 years.

“These projects will provide real and recurring savings for taxpayers as we continue to make government more efficient through shared services,” said Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “While the Trump administration continues to cut taxes for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, New York is moving forward by providing much needed tax relief for hardworking middle-class families.”

The Municipal Restructuring Fund is a $25 million fund, managed by the state Department of State’s Division of Local Government Services, to support local government restructuring projects in multiple stages of development. Projects listed for Project Development will be eligible for additional funding if they successfully move to implementation. Projects qualify based upon the type of the proposal, the number of local governments involved and the potential financial impact to the municipal residents. The local governments sponsoring these projects have worked with the Department of State to craft proposals that meet the fund’s program’s threshold for funding.