Shared Services Success Stories One of the first duties of the Shared Services Coordinator was to make contact with all of the municipal officials and initiate discussion on possible shared service opportunities. Upon completion of one discussion with a small borough, the DPW Supervisor approached the Borough Administrator with a price quote for light generators. The Borough Administrator was told that the county had several generators that the borough could use which resulted in a cost avoidance of $20,000.00 in 2008. The Shared Services Coordinator acted as a third party negotiator for contracts and services, resulting in over $400,000.00 in savings in taxpayers' money in 2008. The Shared Service Coordinator facilitated the expertise of county employees to review proposed municipal projects/public entity service contracts, resulting in thousands of dollars in savings. One township saved $57,000.00 by having the county GIS director review a proposed GIS service contract. Read the report of the Sussex County Telecommunications Working Group on Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) consolidation. The position of Shared Services coordinator was made possible by the State of New Jersey Department of Consumer Affairs, COUNT Grant, for a period of three years. Keith Armstrong was appointed Sussex County Shared Services Coordinator in December, 2007. The "Formal" successes in shared services can be directly tied to the COUNT Grant which provides for a full time Shared Services Coordinator and full time coordination of the shared services agreements. The Shared Services Coordinator facilitates all aspects of a shared service agreement starting from the conception of the idea, to investigative study, to crafting the agreement and execution, then the submittal of funding to lift the new agreement off the ground, and running. The "Formal" shared service agreement benefits were expected but Sussex County has enjoyed numerous "informal" benefits that can be attributed to having a full time Shared Services Coordinator. These informal benefits have resulted in increased and continued communications through the municipal officials within Sussex County. These communications have in turn resulted in tax dollar savings to citizens totally of about $500,000.00. Shared Services Agreements, especially complex ones where merging departments or municipal services with loyal personnel, take time, sometimes several years, to develop, investigate and negotiate to successful conclusion. Sussex County projects continued and increasing success in the future through shared services. In 2008 Sussex County saved over $1,000,000.00 tax dollars through shared service initiatives that can be directly attributed to the COUNT grant funding that created the fulltime Shared Services Coordinator. Please contact Keith Armstrong, Shared Services Coordinator at 973-579-0350 ext 1129 or karmstrong@sussex.nj.us if you have any shared services questions or ideas. Shared Services Initiatives COUNTY TO MUNICIPALITY/PUBLIC ENTITY All Health Services County-wide Winter road maintenance services Andover Borough - Complete DPW Services Sussex County Community College Fueling agreements Andover Borough Sussex County Community College Sussex Borough Salt and grit storage and loading agreements National Park Service Andover Township Sussex County Community College Stillwater Township Andover Township GIS Services that include parcel maintenance, storm water mapping, shade tree mapping, and critical infrastructure, Right to know, and data hosting. Byram Township GIS Portal Integration Green Township ModIV / Municipal Zoning Updates Hopatcong Borough Owned Properties within Sewer Service Area Mapping Project Hopatcong Borough River Styx Mapping Montague Township Tax Map/GIS Vendor Selection Consultation Sandyston Township Nature Resource Inventory Mapping Stanhope Borough GIS/Planning Cooperative Agreement Stanhope Borough Trail Inventory Project GPS and Mapping Support Vernon Township GIS Cooperative Agreement Delaware River Valley Basin Commission Open Space Data Support NJDEP Div. Parks & Forestry Map Support Sussex County Chamber of Commerce Mapping Support Sussex County Rails to Trails Mapping Support Wallkill River Watershed Management Group GIS Support Rutgers's Cooperative Extension - Spatial Distribution of Black Bear Damage to Corn Project Senior Programs To all municipalities Div. of Senior Services conducts senior programs to all municipalities. Employee Assistance Program sharing Town of Newton Andover Township Montague Township EAPs Provide Sussex County Cooperative Contract Purchasing System All Municipalities All municipalities have the opportunity to participate in County negotiated contract pricing. Traffic light maintenance Town of Newton Library Services Twenty three (23) of twenty four (24) municipalities Prescription Plan Insurance Sussex County Community College Sussex County Technical High School Law Enforcement Psychological Exams All municipalities Savings $100.00 per exam Training All municipalities County facilitates training in mandated areas such as Right to Know, blood borne pathogens, harassment, and other areas. Equipment use All municipalities Municipalities have emergency access to needed equipment such as generator light trailers, DPW equipment, etc. Planning Stanhope Borough County provides planning services for master plan, COAH. MUNICIPAL TO MUNICIPAL Animal Control Sparta Township Wantage Township Hopatcong Borough Tax Assessing Multiple Municipal services Tax Collecting Multiple Municipal services Chief Financial Officer Franklin Borough Hardyston Township Joint Court Services Multiple Municipal services Construction Officials Hardyston Township Hamburg Borough Zoning Enforcement Officer Franklin Borough Hardyston Township Six (6) 9-1-1 Regional PSAPS (Public Safety Answering Points) Sparta Township Newton Hardyston Township Hopatcong Borough Andover Township Vernon Township MUNICIPALITY TO COUNTY Prosecutors Office Narcotics Task Force Officers COUNTY TO COUNTY Meals on Wheels (Passaic) Purchasing Co-Ops (with Morris County) Sussex County All municipalities Youth Shelter Morris County SUSSEX COUNTY PROPOSED SHARED SERVICES Meals on wheels with jail Consolidated (1) one PSAP Super-Consolidated PSAP County to County with Morris County Police Regionalization Police Contract for services Qualified Purchasing Agent Service Chief Financial Officer services Medical Insurance sharing DPW Consolidation Regional Truck Washing Stations Guard Rail Install and repair Street Signs Fleet Maintenance Radio Maintenance I.T. Service Web Hosting County wide Police Info sharing Facilities, Cleaning Services Records Purging Records management County Records archiving Electronic Records Document Management systems "Hot" data back up and disaster recovery system Energy Audits EMS Service CDL Drug testing Winter Road Pre-wetting Salt Brine Program Police Speedometer Calibration Program Public Safety Training Institute Correctional Medical Care Planning Services Shared Court Services Employee Wellness Programs Employee Assistance Programs   Department of Central and Shared Services, Ronald L. Tappan, Administrator One Spring Street, Newton, N.J. 07860 Office Hours:8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Phone 973-579-0350 Fax 973-579-0355 sharedservices@sussex.nj.us