Member Survey: Help Determine our Training Curriculum

How do you prefer to learn? 
What keeps you and your town board up at night? 
What topics would like to see us cover? 
How in-depth do you want to go? 

By answering these questions and more, you'll help inform our training curriculum and conference agendas! We're about to hit full planning mode for our 2027 Newly Elected Training Officials School and our 2027 Annual Meeting & Training School.

Please take our brief survey on member training and education to let us know what topics you're interested in learning more about, how important certification and other professional development credits are to you. 

Now Accepting Presentation Proposals & Abstracts

We are also excited to announce that the dates of our 2027 Annual Meeting & Training School are March 14–16, 2027.

Each year, the conference brings together town officials from across New York State for three days of education, networking, and professional development. We are seeking engaging, practical, and educational sessions that provide attendees with tools, strategies, and best practices they can bring back to their communities.

The 2027 conference will continue the successful format introduced last year, including:
• General sessions and panel discussions
• Breakout sessions featuring position-specific and topical education, including areas such as Supervisors, Town Attorneys, Town Boards, Town Clerks, Assessors, Planning & Zoning, Finance, Grant Management, Case Studies, Best Practices, Budget Development, Technology & AI, Rural Town Management, Managing Conflict, Managing People, and more.

Based on attendee and exhibitor feedback, we are making several enhancements to the conference schedule, including additional networking breaks, increased exhibit hall hours, and fewer competing educational sessions to create more opportunities for attendee engagement.

We are also excited to share that the theme for the 2027 Annual Meeting & Training School is "Connecting Leaders. Strengthening Towns." This theme reflects the vital role that collaboration, communication, and leadership play in building resilient and thriving communities. While your presentation does not need to align directly with the conference theme, we welcome proposals that highlight innovative ideas, partnerships, leadership development, problem-solving, and best practices that help town officials connect with one another and better serve their communities. We look forward to featuring sessions that complement this year's theme while continuing to provide the practical, educational content our attendees value.

To submit a presentation proposal, please complete our Conference Session Proposal form here: New York Association of Towns - Conference Session Proposal

The deadline for presentation submissions is August 1. Selected presentations may be scheduled on Sunday, March 14; Monday, March 15; or Tuesday, March 16, 2027. While we will make every effort to consider presenter availability during the scheduling process, we are unable to accommodate requests for presentations on specific days. While we cannot accommodate every proposal in the Annual Meeting program, we are also planning additional educational programs throughout the year, including our regional Newly Elected Town Officials School in January. All presenters will be notified of their proposal status by mid-August.

Any questions regarding presenting at any of our conferences may be directed to our Conferences, Education & Events Manager Emily Kurtzner at [email protected]. 

Now Available for Towns: No-Risk Utility Audits

Recapture and Remove Overcharges and Billing Errors

NYAOT is pleased to announce a new partnership with National Utilities Refund, which will work with you to discover and remove errors and overcharges in your town's utility invoices to recoup funds and reduce your monthly bills. 

Our partners at National Utility Refund will:

Reduce your rates

By procuring competitive bids on your electricity and natural gas to secure the lowest possible supply rate. As a licensed energy broker, NUR handles energy supply outside of the audit — so you keep 100 percent of any savings achieved under a new supply contract.

Ensure accurate & cost-effective charges

Identify any billing errors in your historical usage and ensure your account is billed under the most cost-effective meter classification to minimize distribution charges. These audits review every line item to confirm accuracy and cost-effectiveness.

For more information, please check out their flyer or a quick video on the process. 

Questions? Please reach out to Pat Kirk to schedule an appointment. 

Save the Date - 2nd Annual Golf Tournament Supporting NYMEF

On Monday, September 21, NYAOT and its supporters will return to Pinehaven Country Club in Guilderland, NY to support the critical missions of the New York Municipal Empowerment Foundation, which are to provide educational scholarships for individuals pursuing local government careers; conduct civic engagement campaigns on critical municipal issues; support and defend home rule authority; and to promote collaboration with educational institutions and municipal leagues.

Every swing supports a good cause.

Looking to sponsor or contribute? Click here. 

Registration is now open! To reserve a spot for your foursome, click here.

Stay in touch all year long - sign up here to receive updates. 

NYAOT Celebrates America’s 250th

Last year, we set out looking for a way to honor our members’ vast and diverse histories in anticipation of America’s 250th birthday this year.

America’s known story is often told through textbooks and calendars, but many of its true foundations don’t get an official date or even a footnote in a Social Studies textbook chapter. In our state –  and very much in our towns – America’s story was forged on dirt roads with wooden mile-markers, and in raucous taverns lit by candlelight. Foundations of Freedom aims to bring together the voices of towns to honor that shared legacy, hopefully illustrating that, in its purest form, local government is a reflection of community, connection and perseverance. Each town that contributed their story will receive a complimentary copy. From these, five towns were chosen to visit and bring their histories to life via our documentary series. 

As you celebrate this July 4 and America’s 250th birthday, we wanted to thank all of our member town officials and historians who participated in a little project we began in the fall of 2025. We didn’t quite envision this pictured book when we started. More than 140 towns contributed to this anthology - all different voices and backgrounds sharing their town’s origin stories and the unforgettable trailblazers who made way for what makes New York such an amazing state. This book is our way of celebrating America’s 250 birthday and highlighting the varied, inspiring and sometimes tumultuous history of our state and country.

We have copies available for purchase and all towns that contributed an essay and/or attended our 2026 Annual Meeting & Training School are receiving a complimentary copy.

To order your copy of our 250th commemorative book, please complete and return an order form. 

Telling America’s Story through New York Towns

In the rolling farmland of the Hudson Valley, communities such as Austerlitz and Hamptonburgh grew from early colonial settlements into centers of agriculture, industry, and culture. Austerlitz flourished through family farming, sheep raising, mills, and trades, while preserving a rural character that endures today. Hamptonburgh’s story is traced back to the Bull family and their stone homesteads and a thriving dairy economy that once produced the nation’s first butter factory. Elsewhere, New York’s towns played defining roles in the fight for independence. Lake George and North Castle stood at critical junctions of the American Revolution, serving as military highways, encampments, hospitals, and command posts.
At Lake George, the movement of artillery under Henry Knox helped turn the tide of the war, while thousands of soldiers endured illness and sacrifice in service of a fragile new nation. In North Castle, farmhouses became headquarters, taverns became centers of civic life, and rugged hills provided refuge for Washington’s army at pivotal moments.
In the Catskills, the Town of Liberty tells a different story. From supplying food to a growing New York City, to hosting visitors seeking health and leisure, to shaping American entertainment, Liberty reflects how towns adapt over time while continuing to serve broader public needs. Together, these histories underscore a simple truth: America’s story was forged in small towns through hard work, sacrifice, and community. 

View our Limited Documentary Series on our YouTube Channel.