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Record of Proceedings

Westchester County Small Business Committee Joint Meeting on FAVOR Program – May 6, 2026

Board of Legislators & Committees — Wednesday, May 6, 2026
BodyWestchester County, New York
SessionBoard of Legislators & Committees
DateWednesday, May 6, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:15

This meeting is being recorded and summarized.

0:19

All right.

0:20

Thank you everybody for joining.

0:21

Today is what's it?

0:23

It is Tuesday, May 5th, 2026.

0:27

Happy Cinq Domato.

0:29

It is 3.06 p.m.

0:31

I would like to begin today's meeting.

0:34

We are joined also with uh veterans and public safety.

0:41

Sure.

0:41

Opening up the committee, 3 or 6 p.m.

0:45

Appreciate being a join and looking forward to our wonderful conversation with our wonderful veterans and employees who work so hard.

0:51

Let's do attendance.

0:53

So I am present.

0:55

Vice Chair Clements, you're online.

0:58

Yes.

1:01

We saw you.

1:04

Mark uses yes.

1:05

Okay, thank you.

1:06

Let's say Cunzio.

1:08

Here.

1:09

Thank you.

1:10

Legislator Smith.

1:11

Here.

1:12

Okay, and we have a quorum.

1:13

Thank you.

1:14

We're opened up.

1:15

It's public safety and governments.

1:16

Thank you, everyone.

1:17

Thank you.

1:17

And uh like to open up.

1:19

I am here.

1:20

Uh let's hit an ambulance here.

1:23

And uh legislator Smith.

1:26

Here.

1:26

Right?

1:28

Thank you.

1:29

So today's meeting is to discuss uh reenacting or resurrecting the county favors program.

1:37

Uh a little about a little bit about this program.

1:40

It's a program to offered uh discounts to veterans in Westchester County.

1:45

Uh it's a program that is uh very good initiative to have veterans uh be you know discounted on different goods and items in West Chester County is something that they will opt into and along with businesses.

1:59

Uh so I'd like to invite to the table our director of veterans, uh Josh Gotchio.

2:10

And director and Travis, may you please when you sit, please give your full title and introduce yourself as well.

2:17

Thanks, Travis.

2:19

Thank you.

2:19

So Travis is passing out a few issue documents here.

2:22

Yes.

2:23

I do love the trees, so I'm sorry I had to make so many paper copies.

2:27

No worries.

2:29

I just want to say thank you to both Josh and Travis for serving us proudly in the United States of Forces.

2:35

Thank you, gentlemen.

2:43

All right.

2:43

Well, thank you.

2:44

Uh can you please introduce yourself for the record.

2:47

I'm Travis Melby.

2:48

I'm the program administrator for the Western Service Veterans Service Office.

2:52

And Josh Cassion, director of the Veteran Service Agency.

2:56

So thank you for the opportunity to have us.

2:58

And since you're giving me the floor here, I want to spend a minute or two just bragging about uh the work that we're doing and and the good things our staff is doing.

3:08

Travis is really uh I come here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Veterans Affairs█████████████████████████████████████████████72%
Public Engagement█████8%
Community Engagement████6%
Personnel Matters███4%
Technology and Innovation███4%
Public Safety██3%
Workforce Development██3%
Summary of Proceedings

Westchester County Small Business Committee Joint Meeting on FAVOR Program – May 6, 2026

Note: The agenda and raw transcript identify the meeting date as Tuesday, May 5, 2026; the timestamp accompanying the meeting record indicates May 6, 2026. This summary uses the timestamp date as instructed.

The Small Business Committee of the Westchester County Board of Legislators, meeting jointly with the Public Safety & Veterans Committee, convened at 3:06 PM to discuss the reinstatement of the FAVOR (veterans discount) program and receive an update from the Westchester County Veterans Service Agency. Legislators present included Chair James Nolan, Vice Chair Clements, Legislators Cunzio and Smith, among others, with a quorum declared.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the meeting minutes from February 11, 2026, March 4, 2026, March 18, 2026, and April 1, 2026, by voice vote.

Discussion Items

FAVOR Program Reinstatement

  • Director of the Veterans Service Agency Josh Gaccione and Program Administrator Travis Melby presented the plan to bring back the FAVOR card, a discount card for veterans. The card will be barcoded and issued in a format similar to the existing county parks card, with an initial order of 5,000 to 10,000 cards.
  • Gaccione stated the target rollout is Veterans Appreciation Day at Playland on August 9, 2026.
  • The program will be accompanied by a veteran-owned business directory on the county website. Businesses that participate in FAVOR discounts will also be featured in the directory.
  • Registration will require an online form that collects confidential information, including Social Security numbers, to verify veteran status. The agency is working with the IT department to ensure security.
  • Melby noted that merchants will not need special equipment; they will receive stickers indicating participation and may offer discounts such as 10% off or buy-one-get-one-free.
  • Legislators discussed outreach strategies, including partnering with chambers of commerce, American Legion halls, and promoting the card at events like the Kensico Dam Sunday gatherings. Legislators offered to share information through their newsletters and district contacts.

Veterans Service Agency Overview and Capacity

  • Gaccione reported 925 client interactions in the last quarter of 2025, including veterans and family members, and noted the agency is seeing more post-9/11 veterans.
  • He stated the agency is the only one in Westchester, Putnam, and Rockland counties that assists with pensions, attracting clients from other counties.
  • The agency has approximately nine staff members, but only three VSOs (Veterans Service Officers), with one vacant grade 12 position.
  • Gaccione estimated there are about 40,000 veterans in Westchester County, though he said the true number is likely no more than 60,000.
  • Asked about staffing needs, Melby said the agency is at or past capacity with its current staff, and an additional level 10 veteran service officer would help expand community outreach and online services.

Veterans Advisory Committee

  • Chair Nolan raised the need to get members sworn in for the Veterans Advisory Committee. Several appointees had not yet been sworn in, and some original members had resigned. Gaccione acknowledged the delay and said he would work with the county executive's office to move forward.

Records Digitization and Internships

  • Melby reported that records up to 1980 have already been digitized, and older paper records are being transferred to the county archives. Records from 1980 to the present are being scanned and uploaded to the VETPRO system for active claims.
  • The agency established an internship program tied to the VA Work Study program, allowing veterans to work as paid interns through federal funding. A new intern, Desmond, is participating in a Department of Defense program that lets him leave the military 120 days early to work in the office.
  • Legislators expressed support for the program and offered to connect the agency with veteran employment resources, such as a DOD-certified employer and the Reserve Organization Association (ROA).

Key Outcomes

  • The four sets of meeting minutes were approved by voice vote, with Legislator Smith recorded as voting yes on both the minutes and the subsequent adjournment motion.
  • No formal vote was taken on the FAVOR program; the discussion served as a directive for the Veterans Service Agency to continue developing the card and registration system, with a target rollout of August 9, 2026.
  • Legislators committed to helping publicize the program in their districts and introductions to chambers of commerce and other business organizations.
  • The committee adjourned at approximately 6:51 PM after voting to adjourn the joint meeting.

Meeting Transcript

This meeting is being recorded and summarized. All right. Thank you everybody for joining. Today is what's it? It is Tuesday, May 5th, 2026. Happy Cinq Domato. It is 3.06 p.m. I would like to begin today's meeting. We are joined also with uh veterans and public safety. Sure. Opening up the committee, 3 or 6 p.m. Appreciate being a join and looking forward to our wonderful conversation with our wonderful veterans and employees who work so hard. Let's do attendance. So I am present. Vice Chair Clements, you're online. Yes. We saw you. Mark uses yes. Okay, thank you. Let's say Cunzio. Here. Thank you. Legislator Smith. Here. Okay, and we have a quorum. Thank you. We're opened up. It's public safety and governments. Thank you, everyone. Thank you. And uh like to open up. I am here. Uh let's hit an ambulance here. And uh legislator Smith. Here. Right? Thank you. So today's meeting is to discuss uh reenacting or resurrecting the county favors program. Uh a little about a little bit about this program. It's a program to offered uh discounts to veterans in Westchester County. Uh it's a program that is uh very good initiative to have veterans uh be you know discounted on different goods and items in West Chester County is something that they will opt into and along with businesses. Uh so I'd like to invite to the table our director of veterans, uh Josh Gotchio. And director and Travis, may you please when you sit, please give your full title and introduce yourself as well. Thanks, Travis. Thank you. So Travis is passing out a few issue documents here. Yes. I do love the trees, so I'm sorry I had to make so many paper copies. No worries. I just want to say thank you to both Josh and Travis for serving us proudly in the United States of Forces.

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