Schumer, Gillibrand: These Fed Dollars Will Make Our Livingston Residents Safer & Healthier For Years To Come!
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand today announced that they have secured $850,000 in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 appropriations bills to support local law enforcement and make critical water system upgrades, increasing the safety and health of Livingston communities.
“This $850,000 in federal funding will make major improvements to Livingston’s water infrastructure and bolster vital training for our police officers, who risk their lives every day to protect our communities. Thanks to these investments, our Livingston residents will have an improved quality of life, with cleaner drinking water and a bolstered police department to keep our communities safe,” said Senator Schumer. “I am proud to deliver this funding that will jumpstart projects that will lay the foundation for a brighter, safer and healthier future for Livingston County.”
“This $850,000 investment will help fund vital projects that will improve quality of life for Livingston County residents,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Thanks to this funding, families’ drinking water will be more secure and local law enforcement will have the resources and tools to boost training and keep area residents safe. I’m proud to have fought to secure this funding, and I’ll continue to work tirelessly to make sure that Livingston families, workers, and businesses have what they need to thrive.”
“The Authority is extremely grateful for Senator Schumer and Senator Gillibrand’s efforts to support and recognize the importance of what this project brings to the community in terms of water quality, public health, and economic development. These types of infrastructure investments are critical to ensuring long-term sustainability and resilience in our water and wastewater systems to the people who live, work and visit Livingston County,” said Mark McKeown, Chairman of the Livingston County Water and Sewer Authority Board.
“I’d like to thank Senators Schumer and Gillibrand for their continued efforts to support Livingston County’s award-winning programs and initiatives,” said David L LeFeber, Chair of the Livingston County Board of Supervisors. “The funding they’ve secured to implement a virtual law enforcement training simulator will provide state-of-the-art training and community engagement tactics for the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office as it continues to prepare officers for a variety of real-world scenarios and enhance its community-oriented policing practices.”
Projects secured by the senators can be found below:
$700,000 for the Livingston County Water & Sewer Authority to preserve and improve drinking water quality and promote water conservation
The Livingston County Water & Sewer Authority will use the funding to make the needed improvements to the Cybersecurity and SCADA system that will provide the needed real time monitoring of their water and wastewater utilities, while providing the continuous cyber security needs to protect their assets on a 24/7 basis and bolster their systems against cyberattacks. Currently, their systems are at risk of cyber breaches, but the funding will enable the Authority to have a secure and reliable communications infrastructure across all remote water and wastewater utilities and facilities. This will enable the County to better treat safe drinking water and ensure their wastewater treatment practices protect water bodies.
$150,000 for Livingston County Law Enforcement for the procurement, training and deployment of a virtual law enforcement training simulator
Livingston County Law Enforcement will use the funding to train officers for real-world scenarios through a virtual law enforcement training simulator that focus on de-escalation and community engagement. A training simulator places an officer in many diverse scenarios ranging from high stress critical incidents that employ force options to community engagement scenarios helping disabled persons, medical emergencies and mental health/substance abuse individuals. This investment in community orientated policing will improve the criminal justice system and provide victim services by giving officers proper training and preparedness for all situations they may have to deal with.