The New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) is holding its Winter Conference from January 28-30 in Albany where more than 800 legislators, county executives and administrators, legislative clerks and attorneys and other county personnel will gather to share best practices and learn from each other.

A number of representatives from Chemung County are in attendance, including:

A link to the Agenda – including a description of many of the offerings – is found here.

I will do my best to post updates to this blog and to the Chemung County Matters Facebook page throughout the next few days for anyone who is interested in what is taking place.

Last week a Chemung County resident reached out to me regarding the cost of the conference to local taxpayers and questioning whether it is an appropriate use of public funds.

According to an email I received, the total cost for Chemung County to send 16 attendees to the conference is right around $3,500. This includes conference registration, food, lodging and gas. Although finding ways to save money should always be a part of the discussion, in my opinion events like this have the potential to save money over time as local officials develop relationships with other lawmakers across the state and learn ways we can do things better at home.

If you have specific matters you wish we should seek out or programs we should attend, please let me know!

–Christina Sonsire