ALBANY - More than $1.4 million in Local Government Efficiency (LGE) program grants were announced Wednesday for the Capital Region.

The LGE awards support projects that consolidate local government services to eliminate waste, make operations more effective and reduce costs. The Capital Region was awarded four grants that total $1.48 million and are expected to save area taxpayers more than $7 million over 10 years.

• $1,000,000 for Schenectady County in partnership with the City of Schenectady, Town of Glenville, Town of Duanesburg, Town of Niskayuna, Town of Princetown, Town of Rotterdam, Village of Delanson and Village of Scotia. These funds will be used to consolidate emergency dispatch operations with the City of Schenectady. This project, as recommended by the 2007 NYS-funded feasibility study, will create improved, consistent emergency dispatch service delivery, streamline administration and create municipal cost savings.
• $400,000 for the Town of East Greenbush, in cooperation with Rensselaer County, to create a joint municipal agreement to authorize the sharing of sewer services and develop the engineering and design specifications for the development of appropriate inter-municipal connections.
• $50,000 for the City of Watervliet for water system consolidation. The grant project will fund the initial tasks needed to develop recommendations for City Charter changes and options for the best legal and financial structure between the Town and the City necessary to create, build and operate a water supply and water treatment plant.
• $34,650 for the Village of Schuylerville. With these funds, the Village will develop a dissolution plan to serve as a decision-making tool for Village residents to determine whether or not to dissolve Village government. This plan will outline the fiscal and non-fiscal advantages of dissolution, identify how Village services will be continued and establish an orderly process for the disposition of Village assets should the Village government be dissolved.