Government

Local Governments play an important role in New York State, including counties, cities, towns and villages. The Division of Local Government Services is a principal resource for New York’s local governments by providing training and technical assistance to local governments and community organizations throughout the state. Article IX of the New York State Constitution required the State Legislature to enact a “Statute of Local Governments” granting certain powers to local governments. Among the powers granted is the power to adopt ordinances, resolutions, rules and regulations; the power to acquire real and personal property; the power to acquire, establish and maintain recreational facilities; the power to fix, levy and collect charges and fees.

Town Government Services and Functions

Every citizen in New York State that does not live in a city lives in both a town and a county. There are two general categories of operations for services provided and functions performed by town governments in New York State:

• Services provided and functions performed on a town-wide basis, including services to all villages located within the town. For these services and functions in this category the cost is imposed town-wide.

• Services provided and functions performed to specific parts of the town, either to the entire area of the town outside of the town’s villages, generally referred to as Town Outside of Village (TOV) or to a specific district or area of the TOV. For the services and functions in this category, the costs are allocated to the areas of the town that receive the specific services and functions.

Towns are not permitted to provide fire services on a town-wide basis. For this function, like many other functions, towns create and administer special districts to levy an assessment on the residents in separate areas of the town to cover the specific cost of that service. These include fire services, which can be provided through a fire protection district or an independent fire district run by commissioners, water and wastewater services, drainage, sidewalks and other types of specialized services.

Wheatland Town Government

The Town of Wheatland Government consists of elected officials, appointed positions, other Town employees and volunteers who serve on various boards and commissions all supporting the public in an open and efficient manner. The Town Board is dedicated to providing highly effective leadership that aligns the resources available to the Town with the defined needs of the community, while helping to enhance quality of life for Town residents. The Town Supervisor is a voting member of the Town Board, providing leadership for Town Board meetings and serving as the administrative leader of the Town Government.

Mission Statement

It is the mission of the Town of Wheatland Government to provide all of the Town’s citizens and businesses with the utmost quality of basic services, directed at publicly expressed community needs, at the least possible cost. This includes passionately working in the best long term interests of the community, providing support for a prosperous economic base within the context of preserving and promoting the Town of Wheatland’s distinctive heritage and robust natural environment, stimulating a high quality of life through the essence of a small town.

Services Summary

As described above, there are standard categories of Town Government provided services and functions within New York State. See the lists below for a summary of these services and functions across the defined categories.