In New York, Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy made an announcement Oct. 5 with Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone for a new shared services partnership to procure electric vehicles together. Albany County now joins Suffolk and Westchester Counties in a tri-county agreement that increases combined purchasing power and will drive down the costs associated with transitioning the counties away from fossil fuel-powered fleets.

“Through this plan, all three counties will be able to transition to 100% electric fleets no later than 2030. Not only will we cut our emissions through this plan, we will also be cutting the price tag, which will ultimately benefit our taxpayers. It’s my hope that more counties will partner with us, and this progress will encourage those in the private sector to follow suit,” said McCoy.

Last month, Bellone and Westchester County Executive George Latimer came together to announce their own shared services procurement initiative. With Albany County now joining, other counties around New York State are encouraged to follow suit to further increase the buying power for purchases and further drive down costs paid by counties. Additionally, this new policy allows for the local municipalities within each of the three counties to buy and lease electric vehicles as well. 

During the announcement, McCoy also unveiled a new request for proposal (RFP) for a fleet inventory and electrification plan, as well as plans for seven new dual-port public charging stations that will soon be installed at six different locations throughout Albany County.