Albany, N.Y.--The New York State Senate has unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Senator George Winner (R-C-I, Elmira), chairman of the Legislative Commission on Rural Resources, to create the "Local Roads Research and Planning Council."

Winner said that the legislation continues his long-standing effort to promote local shared services and efficiency as a way to cut local costs and lower property taxes.

"This legislation seeks to provide and promote ideas for localities looking for ways to cut costs and ease the local property tax burden," said Winner.

The Legislature's ongoing focus on local government reform during the 2008 legislative session complemented a report earlier this year from the Commission on Local Government Efficiency & Competitiveness, a panel established in April 2007 to study how New York’s 4,200 local governments can provide public services more efficiently and more cooperatively in an effort to bring down local property taxes. The commission's report, "21st Century Local Government," estimates that the implementation of its recommendations, which included many of the ideas being advanced by Winner legislatively, could produce more than $1 billion in costs savings to local governments statewide.

Winner said that shared services and other local government efficiency initiatives will play an increasingly important role in the ongoing effort to keep property taxes under control. His legislation represents one in a package of local efficiency measures sponsored by Winner in 2008. Other Winner initiatives include the consolidation of local justice courts; allowing adjoining towns to merge into a single new town through local initiative; and authorizing two or more municipalities to jointly initiate the municipal annexation process.

The expense of maintaining and upgrading local roads and bridges constitute a big slice of local government budgets across New York. The new, 13-member council, which would be chaired by the state transportation commissioner, would promote cooperation and planning between local cities, towns, and villages, including the use of new technology and information. Some of the specific initiatives that the council would explore include new road classifications, and rehabilitation and maintenance standards; the potential for greater efficiency in the construction and maintenance of local roads through better coordination, joint purchasing, and the sharing of equipment, materials, labor, and facilities; and an inventory of the status of local roads.