A new shared services agreement between Elmira and Chemung County will go into effect in March following unanimous approval by the county legislature. The vote, held on February 10, 2015, was 12-0 in favor of the agreement, with three legislators absent, said Karen Miner, the county’s director of information.
The agreement was approved Jan. 26 by Elmira City Council and the legislature’s Budget and Highway standing committees. Under the consolidation agreement, the county pays for $400,000 of the city’s Highway Department personnel costs this year. By 2020, the county will pay for $2.4 million of those personnel costs.
Those workers, who will be employed by the county instead of the city, continue to receive the same salaries, maintain the same titles and be eligible for additional county benefits. The agreement includes but isn’t limited to such services as engineering, routine bridge and culvert maintenance, fleet and equipment maintenance, parking meter maintenance, paving and curb maintenance, snow and ice control and street cleaning.