Welcome Message from the Chair
Hello, welcome to the web site for the Broome County Legislature. I hope that you find these pages to be useful and informative.
When I became Chair in January, 2007, I spoke with the Clerk of the Legislature and the entire staff regarding how we could make county government more transparent. We decided to make all of the proceedings and business of the Legislature more accessible. This has been accomplished in three ways. First, we moved all of our meetings from 5:00pm (4:00pm in June, July, and August) to 6:00pm (5:00pm in June, July, and August). Second, we now post our meeting agenda on this web site several days in advance of the meeting. And, third, we also post the minutes of each Legislative Session on the web site as soon as they are approved.
Broome County is a mixture of urban, suburban, and rural areas. In its one city, seven villages, and sixteen towns, you will find industrial, commercial, residential, and agricultural uses. Broome County has many charming commercial districts and a solid housing stock in neighborhoods in the urban core as well as in suburban developments. In addition, Broome County has some of the finest recreational facilities anywhere in this country with two state parks, eight county parks, the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers, and numerous public and private golf courses and campgrounds. We enjoy an enormous wealth of talent in the visual and performing arts with everything from a symphony to theatre companies, and a world class opera company. All of that, combined with numerous museums, the nation's fifth oldest zoo, and professional baseball and hockey teams make for a great quality of life here in Broome County. New for 2007 is the Dick's Sporting Goods Seniors Tour at Enjoie Golf Course.
We are about one hour from other attractive upstate New York communities such as Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the James Fennimore Cooper Museum, and the National Farmer Museum; Corning, home to the Corning Museum of Glass and a lovely retail district; and Ithaca, with the enormous resources of Cornell University and its seven colleges as well as many natural resources and three State Parks. Also, within that one hour's drive is the Mark Twain landmark theatre in Elmira, the National Soccer Hall of Fame in Oneonta, and the beautiful Village of Owego, home to unique shops and stores in a pleasant setting. A few minutes further and you are sailing through the Finger Lakes region with its beautiful views, geologic wonders, and renowned wine country.
Broome County is at the crossroads of three Interstate highways that can take you in just 3 hours time to the state Capitol Albany, New York City, Philadelphia, and the Pennsylvania Dutch country. A six hour drive will take you to our nation's capitol, Washington D.C. or the Canadian cities of Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto, not to mention Boston and the New England vacation areas and the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains.
The Greater Binghamton Regional Airport is a tower-controlled airport that has runways capable of handling jumbo jets to serve the aviation needs of the Greater Binghamton Region. There are direct flights daily to Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, JFK, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Washington National. A recently remodeled passenger terminal and easily accessible parking areas make the Greater Binghamton Airport inviting, comfortable, and convenient for travelers.
Educational opportunities in Broome County are outstanding. We have wonderful elementary, middle, and secondary schools that produce college ready and job ready young adults. Broome Community College is a terrific institution from which many local people graduate and then continue on to a variety of top notch universities. And, of course you've heard of the flagship of the State University of New York, Binghamton University where more than 12,000 people currently study more than 100 disciplines for Bachelor, Master and Doctorate degree programs. In addition to these local resources, many people from Broome County study, or work, at one of the other dozen colleges and universities within commuting distance of Broome County such as Cornell University, Syracuse University, and the University of Scranton.
Broome County has a skilled, educated work force, many of whom have designed and built projects such as the Space Shuttle, the Presidential Helicopter, and various IBM computer systems.
Real estate prices in many parts of the County are very reasonable. Whether you're looking for a loft apartment, a starter home, or a 3,000 square foot luxury home, Broome County has plenty to offer. Plenty of commercial real estate investment opportunities exist in retail areas and in centers of commerce.
Broome County has one daily newspaper, Gannett's Press & Sun-Bulletin which serves a three county area and beyond with three regional editions published daily at a new state-of-the-art printing press located here in Broome County. There are also four weekly community newspapers with local distribution. Broome County has three local broadcast television stations that reach a metropolitan area of 210,000 viewers. Cable television service reaches nearly all urban and suburban areas. And high-speed internet service, including cable, DSL, and Wireless is reaching more and more households every day.
And finally, Broome County excels in health care. Lourdes Hospital consistently wins awards and national recognition for excellence in heath care. They excel in internal medicine, cardiac care, and the treatment of diabetes and cancer. Binghamton General Hospital and Wilson Regional Medical Center are operated by United Health Services. They excel in orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, cardiac surgery, and kidney dialysis and also serve as a regional trauma center. Through an arrangement with the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse (Upstate Medical), Broome County is also home to the benefits of talented medical student interns and resident physicians, in addition to our wealth of seasoned medical providers and professionals. Broome Community College helps to supply this community with skilled nurses of all license classes: Registered Nurse and Licensed Practical Nurse. Binghamton University's School of Nursing offers Bachelor in Nursing and Master in Nursing.
There are many services and activities for children, teens, young adults, couples, and senior citizens.
Broome County and the Greater Binghamton region is indeed a microcosm of America. We are a melting pot of dozens of different ethnic and religious groups, many of whom arrived here with little more than their capacity for hard work and dreams of a better life for their children. For most, those dreams have been realized.
On behalf of the 195,000 residents of Broome County, I hope you enjoy your this web site and its associated links.
