City of Binghamton (Winner)
County: Broome County
Population: 10,001 to 50,000
City Hall: (607) 343-3670

In 2006, the City if Binghamton, plagued by more than 300 vacant properties, took advantage of New York State's Restore NY Program, to regain control over abandoned properties. The City established a Restore NY Project Team that developed, submitted, and implemented two grants that uniquely focus on residential properties as part of a larger "Healthy Neighborhoods" approach.

City of Binghamton (Winner)
County: Broome County
Population: 10,001 to 50,000
City Hall: (607) 343-3670

Like many other Upstate municipalities, the City of Binghamton faced increasingly troublesome neighborhood blight. More than 200 vacant properties plagued the City, undermining market values, draining local resources, stunting economic development, and compromising neighborhood safety. A creative intervention, called The Blight Prevention Initiative, was announced during the Mayor's 2007 State of City Address.

Village of Adams (Winner)
County: Jefferson County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (315) 232-2351

The Village and Town of Adams Shared Municipal Building was the outgrowth of a Joint Comprehensive Plan adopted by both entities in 2004 as part of a strategy to revitalize downtown and improve community facilities. In addition to addressing the need for space by both Village and Town of Adams officials, this single story 6,750 square foot municipal facility has generated savings for both municipalities through streamlined building operations, as well as shared overhead and maintenance. This new building has also encouraged more day to day communication between local officials. In addition, Village and Town residents can now easily access local officials, services and documents, while giving them another reason to visit downtown and patronize local businesses.

City of Rochester (Winner)
County: Monroe County
Population: 50,000 +
City Hall: (585) 428-7045

The City of Rochester was looking to clean-up its city without the expense and investment in labor that often comes with these efforts. The Mayor's solution to this problem was the Clean Sweep program Clean Sweep is truly an example of a collaborative effort that brought together the resources of the City, volunteers, businesses, faith communities, neighborhood organizations and non-profits.

Village of Lacona
County: Oswego County
Population: Less than 5,000
Village Hall: (315) 387-5564

Until 2006, all daily operations for both the Villages of Lacona and Sandy Creek were performed in a small room in the Sandy Creek Fire Hall. Lacona had no physical office and shared many staff with Sandy Creek. After 22 years, this space could not effectively serve the public nor provide a safe, secure environment for staff or records.

City of Syracuse (Winner)
County: Onondaga County
Population: 50,000 +
City Hall: (315) 448-8005

In an effort to limit project expenses and completion times the City of Syracuse initiated "ProjectStat," an innovative project management and tracking program designed to keep municipal construction projects running smoothly on schedule and on budget. The original goals for ProjectStat were to reduce arbitrage penalties, utilize city funds more effectively, and to complete construction projects more timely and efficiently. ProjectStat tracks funding streams, project-specif¡ic benchmarks, and bi-weekly activity to increase accountability, operational efficiencies and make the process operate more smoothly and adhere more cohesively to timely schedules.

Village of Lancaster (Winner)
County: Erie County
Population: 10,001 to 50,000
Village Hall: (716) 683-2105

The Village of Lancaster upgraded its municipal water system and turned it over to the Erie County Water Authority (ECWA), resulting in improved water service to the public at a lower cost. The village replaced old, damaged four-inch water lines with new six and eight inch lines, thereby improving water service to residents. The increased pipe size was also required to meet water system requirements for administration by the ECWA. The ECWA then replaced the Village Water Department by incorporating the village's water system into the larger County water system, providing water ser¡vice at a lower rate than the village's water service.

City of Canandaigua (Winner)
County: Ontario County
Population: 10,001 to 50,000
City Hall: (585) 396-5017

Recognizing that city employees are most familiar with the delivery of services and, as such, are in the best position to find ways to reduce costs, the City of Canandaigua instituted the Employee Incentive Awards Program.