Minoa Mayor Bill Brazill has been appointed to sit on the executive committee for the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials (NYCOM).
Comprising representatives of 578 municipalities and 7,000 officials overall, that government administration founded in 1910 has been meant to serve as an active, uniting statewide network and advocate for cities and villages within the boundaries of New York.
Based in Albany, the educational and training association is also a resource for practical information relating to municipal activity like legal guidance, financing advice and day-to-day technical assistance.
Brazill’s recent appointment to the leadership position makes him one of 15 members of the executive committee alongside such other names as Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“I’m so honored and blown away—I accepted in a minute,” Brazill said. “I’ve been a part of NYCOM for about 21 years and every year I go to the classes and seminars put on. I always learn something new because there’s so much to learn.”
In 2019, Brazill was appointed chair of NYCOM’s nominating committee. His latest move up was a selection made by Kathy Sheehan, the mayor of Albany and president of the executive committee.
“For the past 21 years, Mayor Brazill has proven himself to be an innovative and effective local leader who is eager to address the challenges facing municipal governments in New York,” Sheehan said after making the appointment. “His experience, energy and insights will be a tremendous asset to NYCOM as we represent our village and city members.”
Brazill said his involvement with NYCOM has informed his duty as mayor of Minoa since he took over that role in 2016. Now, he says he has a “better seat at the table” when it comes to tackling issues affecting different municipalities, making a difference in their interest, and lobbying for their needs to Gov. Kathy Hochul and her office.
“Now I’m a step closer to decision-making and being near the governor and the state legislators,” Brazill said. “NYCOM plays a very important role as the legislative advocate for cities and villages, and also guides elected and appointed officials in our efforts to best serve our residents. I have seen firsthand how this organization works diligently on our behalf and seeks input from its members about the most pressing issues we face.”
The executive committee meets a number of times beyond the events for the membership like NYCOM’s annual meeting every May and the fall training school taking place this week in Lake Placid, where Brazill is being introduced as part of the executive board for the first time.
Brazill follows in the footsteps of late Minoa Mayor Dick Donovan as only the second-ever mayor from Minoa to be selected for NYCOM’s executive committee. Donovan had also served as president of the state association.
In other news
The Minoa Village Board made the decision this month to have the Onondaga County Board of Elections run Minoa’s next village election.
The elections will still be held in March and in the village hall on North Main Street as usual but with less busy work and a smaller task load on the part of the village from noon until 9 p.m. on Election Day.
“It’s just getting to the point where us running our own elections is very time-consuming, so the board just felt, and so did I, that it’s probably just better to have the board of elections handle everything,” Brazill said. “This way, it’s a totally independent source running things and there isn’t as much put on our people and our offices.”
Brazill said having the county board oversee future elections in Minoa made more sense because the village already rents voting machines from them and their people are more used to handling procedural responsibilities like inspection, the answering of questions, result certification and unexpected machine maintenance because it’s their main job.
Brazill said that up until now Minoa’s elections were among the few in the area that the county’s board of elections were not running. Over the years the villages of Fayetteville, Manlius and North Syracuse were some that went from running their own elections to depending on the county board.
