MAYVILLE — The Chautauqua County Shared Services Initiative Panel recently voted to delay the Countywide Shared Services Initiative Plan for 2019 in order to have more time to develop projects for the 2020 plan.

The Countywide Shared Services Initiative was proposed by Cuomo in spring 2017, and adopted by the New York State Legislature as part of the 2018 State Budget. The initiative established panels in each county across the state and each panel is convened by the county executive and is made up of all the mayors and supervisors in the county.

The panel is tasked with developing a shared services plan, which must be reviewed by the County Legislature for comment, presented to the public for comment, and ultimately voted on by the panel before being sent to the New York State Department of State. This process became on-going for the 2019-2021, and also allowed panels the option to delay making changes or adopting new plans when appropriate.

“The County Executive by law serves as chair of the Shared Services Initiative Panel,” said County Executive PJ Wendel. “The transition occurring in the office late last year along with scheduling conflicts for many panel members made it difficult to develop substantive changes for us to submit in 2019. I am excited to bring my experience as a former village trustee and county legislator to the table and work with our local leaders to find new ways to share services and create government efficiencies.”

Initial topics to potentially include in the 2020 plan include the Chautauqua County Water and Wastewater Cooperative, a project from the 2017 plan which received Municipal Restructuring grant funding, and more efficient municipal code enforcement and fire inspections.

Anyone seeking further information should call Executive Assistant Daniel Heitzenrater in the Chautauqua County Executive’s Office at 753-4672.