CHENANGO COUNTY – Chenango County is one of only two counties in New York not currently in compliance with state law to have a county-wide veterans service agency, urging county legislators to scrutinize their options when it comes to creating one.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Health and Human Service Committee at its monthly meeting on Thursday. Under New York State law, counties are required to establish a veterans service agency and appoint a director who could also serve as a veterans service officer. Law also requires that a service officer be accredited, meaning they need a training process to assist veterans with certain issues.

Veteran service officers help navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs bureaucracy, and their services are free. They assist with gathering the information necessary to support a claim, filing the claim, and tracking the claim through the VA system. They also assist with filing appeals for denied claims.

But the question, according to committee members, is how to go about creating such an agency and at what cost. Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Lawrence Wilcox asked Gary Waffle, Director of the Chenango County Office of Employment and Training at the CDO Workforce in Norwich, to start researching the county’s requirements. Findings were presented to committee members on Thursday.