The New York State Conference of Mayors has a new president, and it’s Olean Mayor William Aiello. The organization advocates on behalf of municipalities around the state, ranging from funding goals to legislative priorities.
Aiello said advocacy over shared issues is important for communities big and small, regardless of partisanship.
“It's not one political party versus the other political party," said Aiello. "This is a body of one when it comes to getting our message across and reaching out to our representatives.
Right now one of the biggest questions for Aiello and mayors across the state, is the flow of federal dollars to their projects and resources.
“Everybody is worried about that, because ultimately, a lot of our funding through the state, comes through the federal government," he said. "So everything is still up in the air and we're waiting to see what's going to happen there. But I have, you know, myself and others, we have faith that things are going to work out.”
Aiello said he's confident CHIPS funding is secure, as is highway and winter storm funding.
For state advocacy, the mayor said he and others hope to see more permanent increases to Aid and Incentives for Municipalities, or AIMS, funding.
"We've been advocating for increases in that for 20 years now," said Aiello. "And we were finally able to get temporary money, which is , it's nice to get that, but this is one of the things that we want to continue to fight for, is that this moves into permanent."
NYCOM represents 578 cities in villages in New York State. It’s been in existence since 1910.
