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Shared Services plan outlines $21K countywide in savings By BOB CLARK
BELMONT — A smaller shared services plan for Allegany County is on its way to the state for review. The county planning department showcased the state-mandated 2019 Countywide Shared Services Initiative plan to the Board of Legislators on Jan. 25, capping off months of work. “We have to do this through 2021 so far — and we look forward to the challenge,” said Michelle Denhoff, a planning and development specialist with the county. While the savings are estimated to be less than 1 cent per taxpayer across the county, officials noted that around $21,000 could be saved under the plan. Officials noted savings estimates in the 2018 plan were significantly higher, as the plan included: • Bulk purchasing, estimated at $240,000 • A Healthcare consortia for employees, around $180,000 • LED streetlights for municipalities, $100,000 • Joint tax assessment, $70,000 • Group utility purchases, $30,000 • Online or countysupported tax collections, $25,000 Not all of those have been implemented, or implemented by all municipalities, director
of planning Kier Dirlam said, and Denhoff noted that many municipalities are also still working on implementing the 2018 plan. The 2019 county plan does not include any school districts or fire districts, which take in almost half of the property tax dollars across the county. Created in the state budget approved in 2017, the initiative calls on local governments to find cost savings through collaborative efforts. Under the law, the counties outside of New York City were required to create a panel for shared services, create a plan either that year or in the next year, and the state would offer matching funds for the amount saved. Areas of potential savings included: • The elimination of duplicative services; • Shared services, such as joint purchasing, shared highway equipment, shared storage facilities, shared plowing services, and energy and insurance purchasing cooperatives; • Reduction in back office administrative overhead; and • Better coordination of services. Allegany County officials in 2017 chose to delay implementing a plan, instead waiting
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Wellsville 7th-grader receives Catholic education award OLEAN TIMES HERALD 716-372-3121 • BRADFORD PUBLISHING COMPANY
Submitted Photo Madelyn “Maddie” Muurisepp
Madelyn “Maddie” Muurisepp, a seventhgrader at Immaculate Conception School of Allegany County in Wellsville, was honored Thursday during the 20th annual Catholic education dinner in Buffalo. She received the fourth annual Natalie Mattimore Lewis Kindness Counts Award. Maddie was nominated for her award by Nora Burdick, the principal at Immaculate Conception, who recognized Maddie for being a serious student with a kind heart, gentle spirit and a beautiful sense of faith. “Maddie has an amazing ability to march to her own beat while
holding fast to honorable values,” Burdick says. “People are comfortable being in Maddie’s presence because she makes a point of being inclusive. Her zest for life is enhanced by the many activities she is involved in. Maddie has a wonderful ability of connecting with others and is kind to her classmates, teammates, teachers, and everyone she meets.” A graduate of St. Rose of Lima School in Buffalo and a young woman of great faith, Natalie Mattimore Lewis died tragically in a hot air balloon accident. Her short life was punctuated by a conscious commitment to acts of
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compassion, love and benevolence. To honor Natalie’s memory and to encourage young people to adopt a practice of working for mercy and simple acts of kindness, the Natalie Mattimore Lewis Kindness Counts Character Award was established in 2016 and first awarded at the 2017 dinner. The award is given annually to a facultynominated seventh-grade Catholic school student who exemplifies Natalie’s spirit of kindness. The award includes a $1,000 tuition voucher and a $100 cash award. Maria Rickert, an eighth-grader at Southern Tier Catholic
School/Archbishop Walsh Academy in Olean, received the inaugural Tim Russert Scholarship for Creative Writing at GALA 22:6 at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center. Formerly known as the Making a Difference Dinner, the event debuted as GALA 22:6 in 2015. The event is presented by the Foundation of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo and proceeds from the event help fund needs-based tuition assistance for students attending Catholic elementary schools throughout the eight counties of Western New York. The 2019 dinner raised $184,500.
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