Broome to Rejoin NYAOT

By Joshua Walther

BROOME - During the Broome Town Board on Wednesday evening, Town Clerk Amy Wayman floated the idea of rejoining the New York Association of Towns, or NYAOT.

NYAOT is a state-sponsored organization that allows municipalities to sign up as members and receive benefits like discounted training for town officials, online programs, and advocacy at the state level.

Aside from their technical benefits, it also acts as a networking space, regularly posting news updates and podcast episodes about what’s happening across New York.

Town Clerk Wayman explained that although Broome was a member in the past, the Town was advised by the previous town clerk to opt out because the membership fees were too high, being priced at just shy of $800.

After hearing the range of goods that members can enjoy, Town Supervisor Steve Weinhofer was in favor of supporting the rejoining, saying “I don’t have a problem with it at all.”

Similarly, Highway Superintendent Jason Wayman weighed in by saying that a member can contact the Association for help with their day-to-day business, stating “I’ve made a few calls to them in the past.”

The rest of the Board members agreed with Supervisor Weinhofer’s stance, and a motion was passed to pay for the readmittance.

In other news, Code Enforcement Officer Randy Wood approached the Board with a dilemma, saying that there was someone in the Town that wanted to hook up their camper to water, sewer, and electric to live inside it for three years.

Mr. Wood was concerned that Broome had no laws of their own to prevent them from doing so, but did bring up the state law that recognized campers as seasonal vehicles that could not be lived in for more than 180 days out of the year.

With the other Board members feeling the same way, Supervisor Weinhofer suggested that they refer to state law while they possibly revisit their own codes at some point in the future.

“I’d tell him what the law says,” he said, going on to note that he didn’t want to see the same idea spreading to the rest of the Town’s residents. “We don’t want people living out of campers.”

Finally, Superintendent Wayman explained that he’s going to be chasing down a grant through the NYS Environmental Bond Act to repair the Woods Road culvert.

He said that the project fits the scope of work for the grant, as it’s an improvement to a waterway, and he’s contacted the county for help in drafting the grant.

The Board gave Superintendent Wayman their unanimous support and requested that they be kept in the loop whenever he learns more.