§ 27.17 State aid; snowmobile trail development and maintenance. 1. Every county engaging and assisting in the development and maintenance of a system of snowmobile trails and a program with relation thereto within its boundaries in order to encourage safety, tourism and utilization and, in the event a county does not undertake such a program, or system of trails, any city, town or village within such county which undertakes the same, shall be entitled to receive, in accordance with rules and regulations to be promulgated by the commissioner, state aid as hereinafter provided.

2. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the commissioner shall establish a plan for the development and maintenance of snowmobile trails and facilities in the various counties or where applicable, cities, towns or villages of the state as may be appropriate and shall take whatever action he or she deems necessary to foster and promote the safe utilization of such trails and facilities; for these purposes, he or she may draw upon the moneys deposited in the snowmobile trail development and maintenance fund for expenses, including personal services, as approved by the comptroller and is hereby authorized to assign three employees of his or her office to carry out such responsibilities and to pay their salaries, benefits and expenses out of such fund.

3. Every county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county, shall be eligible for a grant for the development and maintenance of a system of snowmobile trails and a program with relation thereto within its boundaries. Such grants shall be made by the commissioner and may constitute up to one hundred percent of the cost of such program including expenditures incurred for signs and markers of snowmobile trails. Any county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county, applying for such grant shall submit to the commissioner by September first of each year an estimate of such expenditures for the current fiscal year, in such form and containing such information as the commissioner may require. No city, town or village may apply for such grant where the county within which it is contained has submitted an application for the same fiscal year. For the purpose of this section, "fiscal year" shall mean the period from April first through March thirty-first. The commissioner shall review all such applications and shall determine the amount of state aid to be allocated to each county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county in accordance with the provisions of subdivision five of this section. Of the amount the commissioner determines each county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county is eligible to receive, seventy percent shall be made available for distribution by November first and thirty percent for distribution upon demonstration of completion, submitted by June first, of the program.

4. Not more than thirty percent of the snowmobile trail development and maintenance fund, as determined by the commissioner, shall be made available to the commissioner and the commissioner of environmental conservation for snowmobile trail development and maintenance on state owned lands; provided, however, that any such maintenance and development on forest preserve lands shall be undertaken in accordance with the master plan for the management of state lands pursuant to section eight hundred sixteen of the executive law.

5. The amount of state aid to be allocated to each county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county, shall be drawn upon the monies remaining in the snowmobile trail development and maintenance fund after withdrawal pursuant to subdivisions two and four of this section and shall be determined by the commissioner as hereinafter provided. The commissioner shall determine the percentage proportion which the authorized expenditures of each individual county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county shall bear to the total authorized expenditures of all the counties, cities, towns or villages for snowmobile trail development and maintenance pursuant to this section during the fiscal year. Such percentage proportion shall then be applied against the amount received in additional fees imposed by section 21.07 of this chapter for registration of snowmobiles during such fiscal year, to the extent only and not exceeding the balance of such fund remaining after the payment of expenses as set forth in this section. The amount thus determined shall constitute the maximum amount of state aid to which each county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county, shall be entitled. The commissioner shall certify to the comptroller the amount thus determined for each county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county, as the amount of state aid to be apportioned to such county or, where applicable, any city, town or village within such county.