City renews deal
WATERVLIET, N.Y. » With local nearby communities sharing services with each other for the past several years, officials from the Watervliet City Council recently passed a resolution to renew a shared service agreement they have with the village of Green Island.
Under the renewed agreement, each municipality agrees to lend either of the others any necessary equipment and vehicles. Many local municipalities also use shared services with the mutual-aid agreements among their respective fire and police departments.
Officials from each community also have shared service agreements with other nearby communities such as the city of Cohoes and the city of Troy.
“It provides a foundation in case we need to borrow a truck or a piece of equipment; it kind of creates a fast track for that so you don’t have to start from scratch,” explained Watervliet Mayor Michael Manning.
Manning said that the city will routinely use a garbage truck from Green Island throughout the year in case they need an extra one or if theirs breaks down.
“Sometimes if we miss a day [of garbage pick-up] due to a holiday, we’ll grab [Green Island’s truck] to double up on some routes,” said Manning. “We dispose of [Green Island’s] recyclables, so they fill their truck and then we use the truck and then we dump the whole truck, so they collect their recyclables but we dispose of them.”
Even though Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been pushing municipalities to share services, these agreements are nothing new for communities like Watervliet and Green Island.
Those officials only have to look a few miles north of the state Capitol for an example of such arrangements and how they can help all involved.
“These types of shared services have been going on even before the governor thought it was a good idea,” said Manning. “…. Doing the shared services is checking a few boxes, we’re getting some equipment and sometimes personnel that we need in a pinch sometimes and we’re fitting into the state and the county guidelines [with shared services].”
Sean Ward, executive assistant to Green Island Mayor Ellen McNulty-Ryan, agreed such deals are important ways for municipalities to provide services more effi- ciently and cost effective. Ward also noted how local municipalities have been sharing services for decades now.
“In the last five years or so, we’ve realized the importance of formalizing these agreements…. So we’ve been exchanging these agreements in recent years and continue shar- ing more cost effective services for our taxpayers,” said Ward. “In the case of Watervliet and Green Island, we have exchanged garbage trucks on several occasions like if one is down for maintenance or repairs; we’re able to access another one.”