A proposal from Madison County is among a group of six finalists in New York state's municipal consolidation competition . County officials are looking at combining the highway department garages of three villages into one new facility. The state will pay for the study exploring how it can be accomplished. Madison County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Becker says it is just one consolidation project that local officials are pursuing. "We need to look for efficiencies wherever we can and this is part of it," Becker said. "With the governor rolling out the new consolidation plan in his budget this year, we feel this gives us a leg up and we’re kind of ahead of the game on it." Gov. Andrew Cuomo's proposed budget includes a mandate on county officials to submit plans for ways they can consolidate some of their government services to keep property taxes down. Those proposals would then go before constituents in a November referendum. To prepare for that potential requirement, Madison
↧