The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and the state’s shared services czars on Monday announced the final round of Local Efficiency Achievement Program grant awards for Fiscal Year 2024 — grants totaling nearly $3.5 million.
These grants provide financial assistance to local government entities such as counties, municipalities, school districts, authorities and fire districts across the state to identify, study and implement shared services initiatives. The program is aimed at encouraging towns to streamline their government services to increase efficiency and help save taxpayer dollars.
LEAP is administered by DCA’s Division of Local Government Services.
Former Mayors Nicolas Platt of Harding Township and Jordan Glatt of Summit, who were appointed by Gov. Phil Murphy in 2018 to serve as bipartisan shared services czars responsible for leading the state’s shared services efforts, have been and remain available to help guide local governments that are interested in applying to LEAP and are considering a shared service agreement.
DCA Commissioner Jacquelyn Suárez applauded them for their efforts.
“Change is never easy for people and local governments alike,” she said. “That’s why DCA, along with Shared Services Czars Jordan Glatt and Nicolas Platt, support local government leaders in exploring shared services opportunities that may reduce costs and improve deliverables to community residents.
“Our approach allows for data-driven decision-making, community engagement and a solutions-focused perspective in managing challenges with expert guidance and grant funding.”
Platt and Glatt, in a joint statement, said they understand the impact of what they are trying to accomplish.
“As former mayors, we are acutely aware of the delicate balance needed to meet residents’ needs and maintain a high quality of life while reducing taxpayer costs,” they said. “We are encouraged by the positive feedback we receive from local officials, and, more importantly, by seeing the great outcomes being achieved through shared service agreements across the state.”
The LEAP grants provide direct support to advance the efforts of shared services in all local governmental units. LEAP affords an unprecedented opportunity to incentivize shared service implementation across New Jersey, advancing the mission of the Shared Services Program. There has been a total of 120 LEAP grant awards issued since the program launched in FY2020, which have totaled more than $18.1 million.
The LEAP program is comprised of three grant opportunities:
- Challenge Grants, which promote innovation and collaboration on more expansive projects that produce shared services of notable significance;
- Implementation Grants, which assist local governments in covering costs associated with the implementation of shared services and school feasibility studies; and
- County Coordinator Fellowship Grants, which support the position of a full-time or part-time County Shared Service Coordinator to identify and advance potential shared services within a county.
Here’s a look at what was distributed:
County Coordinator Fellowship Grants
- Passaic County, $75,000
- Monmouth County, $75,000
- Union County, $37,500
- Bergen County, $75,000
- Atlantic County, $75,000
- Hudson County, $75,000
- Somerset County, $37,500
Implementation Grants
- Henry Hudson Regional board of education, regionalization, $400,000
- Corbin City board of education, feasibility study, $32,000
- Kittatinny Regional High School board of education, feasibility study, $153,500
- Cape May Point, storm water maintenance, $69,952.50
- West Cape May, street sweeper, $191,448.75
- Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Medical Service, $400,000
- Atlantic City/Pleasantville, joint municipal court, $229,950
- South Toms River, street sweeper, $299,242.50
- Allenhurst, shared dispatch – Monmouth County, $400,000
- Shrewsbury, shared dispatch – Monmouth County, $352,995
- Cresskill, shared municipal court with Demerest, $76,049.15
- Bergen County, shared dispatch – East Newark/Harrison, $400,000
To encourage and support local governments’ interest in shared services, DLGS established the Local Assistance Bureau, which provides technical assistance to local officials and staff for each step of the shared services process, from identification through implementation.
The LAB team is comprised of former municipal professionals who possess the expertise and accumulated knowledge, skill sets and insights to bring an inventive and skilled outlook to the field of municipal shared services. Staffing expertise ranges from police, fire, emergency management services, municipal court, finance, business administrators/managers and public works.
