Village of Leicester (population 468)
Name of service/government operation: Village of Leicester
Form of sharing: Reimburse the Town of Leicester's Department of Public Works on an hourly basis for work performed for our municipality
Services affected: Water line stakeouts, general public works projects
Year started: 1930's
Partners: Town and Village of Leicester
Primary goal(s)/motivation(s): As the Village does not own their own public works department, we hire the Town of Leicester to perform some of our work.
What planning process preceded the sharing? Since the Village of Leicester has been in existence, there has always been an informal agreement with the Town of Leicester to perform our work and be reimbursed at the hourly rate they pay their employees.
What governance structures and/or agreements are required to maintain this agreement? The Village had a contract with the Town of Leicester for snow removal that was in effect to automatically renew annually since January 1, 1970. We created and signed the first Intermunicipal Agreement between the same two municipalities for their water work department in February of 2010.
Challenges: Both of these Agreements have been in negotiation since 2010 when new Town of Leicester Board members took office and requested the terms of the Agreements be changed. It has created a very difficult situation for our small community.
Benefits: Reimbursing the Town for work their employees conduct for the Village helps to reduce the expenses, and there for the tax rate, for the Town well providing the Village with a lower cost to have the work performed than hiring an outside contractor.
Impact on budget: Lowers the expense of work being performed for the Village, increase the revenue for the Town, of which the Village residents pay taxes also.
Impact on labor: The Village does not have employees who would perform this type of work.
Impact on service: Projects and emergency work are both performed at a quicker rate than if we had to hire an outside contractor.
Key contact: Peggy J. Hamilton, Village Clerk/Treasurer Villageofleicester@frontiernet.net