Village Officials Committee (2011 LGAA)

Villages of: Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Elmsford, Hastings-on-Hudson, Irvington, Sleep Hollow, Tarrytown (Winners)
County: Westchester County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (914) 952-6555

In 2003, the Village Officials Committee (VOC) began meeting to discuss matters of mutual interest involving six Villages in Westchester County and the Town of Greenburgh, and to collaborate on the common goal of improving the quality of life in each of the respective communities. Over time, the VOC's primary focus evolved toward the sharing of services and equipment, and the generation of ideas to save money, time and energy for all of the villages involved.

In November 2009, the Department Heads of each community were invited to a special VOC meeting in Elmsford to confer with their counterparts on ways to broaden the group's efforts toward saving money by sharing services, purchasing, equipment, and personnel. The VOC also made an effort to engage the respective school districts in the VOC's shared services and equipment programs. Joint projects during 2009 included street paving, elevator maintenance service contracts, joint purchase of equipment, and sharing of equipment and personnel. In 2010, the VOC expanded its scope and began working with local School Superintendents to explore ways to save money in the property assessment and tax grievance process.

During the past two years, the VOC's work has resulted in over $500,000 in joint savings to the taxpayers of the original six member villages in the areas of paving via the VOC's joint paving contracts, elevator service contracts, sharing of equipment and personnel resources. In addition, the time and cost associated with competitive bidding has been reduced by 85% due to the elimination of duplicative efforts.

Perhaps the biggest asset of the VOC is the collective governmental experience and knowledge seven Mayors and seven Administrators/Managers bring together. This type of collaboration has lead to increased efficiencies in several areas. The residents' quality of life has improved by the municipalities not having to cut vital services and programs due to savings of tax dollars, not having to raise taxes above and beyond to purchase equipment now shared by all, and the pooling of personnel resources that otherwise may not be available due to cost.

The VOC remains a vibrant organization in 2011 with work presently underway for a third joint paving contract, collaboration on various State legislative items, further joint service contracts, equipment and personnel sharing, and collaborating on staff training. Also, at the start of 2011, the VOC expanded its membership to include the Village of Sleepy Hollow from the Town of Mount Pleasant.