Administration awards $1.6M in regionalization and efficiency grants

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito joins state and local officials to celebrate the announcement of the FY22 Community Compact Efficiency & Regionalization Grant Program awards at Buckland Town Hall on March 24. (Photo courtesy Joshua Qualls/Governor’s Press Office)

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito today announced $1.6 million in grants through the Community Compact Cabinet Efficiency and Regionalization program, which helps municipalities improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of service delivery.

At an event in Buckland, Polito said this year’s Efficiency and Regionalization grants will fund “a wide range of innovative projects that will have outsized benefits” for local residents and businesses.

“We appreciate the continued commitment of our local community leaders in identifying opportunities to drive maximal impact through these collaborative regional efforts,” she said.

The administration launched the Efficiency and Regionalization Grant Program in fiscal 2017 to provide funds that may be used toward the planning and implementation of regionalization initiatives, including shared services, intergovernmental agreements, consolidations and other collaborative efforts.

The program has issued 86 grants for a total of $7.1 million in funding for one-time or transition costs for municipalities, regional planning agencies, school districts and councils of government.

This year’s awards are:
• $200,000 to support shared police services for Buckland and Shelburne
• $200,000 for regional fire training for Norwood, Bellingham, Canton, Millis, Norfolk, Sharon, Stoughton, Walpole, Westwood and Wrentham
• $200,00 for regional wastewater management for Sandwich, Barnstable, Bourne, Falmouth and Mashpee
• $200,000 for shared police services for Russell and Montgomery
• $187,000 for shared police services for Leyden and Bernardston
• $130,707 for regional animal control for Uxbridge, Blackstone, Douglas, Hopedale, Mendon and Millville
• $100,000 for shared human resources for Adams, North Adams and Williamstown
• $95,000 for regional economic development for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, focusing on the following rural communities: Blandford, Brimfield, Chester, Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Granby, Granville, Hadley, Hampden, Hatfield, Holland, Huntington, Middlefield, Montgomery, Pelham, Plainfield, Russell, Southampton, Tolland, Wales, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington
• $94,902 for a regional sustainability coordinator for Westford and Carlisle
• $70,280 for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission to develop a shared town administrator program, initially with Savoy
• $46,852 for shared police services for Becket and Otis
• $40,000 for Northfield to explore regionalization of its Emergency Medical Services
• $25,000 for shared police services for Dalton and Hinsdale

Formed in January 2015, the Community Compact Cabinet is chaired by the lieutenant governor and includes the secretaries of Housing and Economic Development, Education, Transportation, Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Technology Services and Security, the senior deputy commissioner of Local Services, and the assistant secretary of Operational Services.

The Cabinet elevates the administration’s partnerships with cities and towns, champions municipal interests across all executive secretariats and agencies, and develops, in consultation with cities and towns, mutual standards and best practices for both the state and municipalities.