Fleming residents are closer to having more choices for their cable television service now that the town has approved an agreement with Verizon. The Town of Fleming is the first community in Cayuga County to sign on for Verizon services, according to a Verizon press release.

The Fleming Town Board approved the agreement on July 13 after a presentation by Verizon. The franchise operation of its FiOS TV service is subject to approval by the state Public Service Commission.

“I am proud that Fleming is one of the first communities in this region - and the first in Cayuga County - to give its residents a choice in TV providers, and to bring new technology into our homes,” Fleming Town Supervisor Gary Searing said in a news release.

Other nearby municipalities contracting with Verizon include the villages of East Syracuse and North Syracuse and the towns of Cicero and Clay, all in Onondaga County.

The Verizon franchise will in no way interfere with customers already receiving Time Warner in the town, according to town board member Ronald Lavarnway, who was on the committee reviewing franchises.

“The committee looked into it and it was competitive with Time Warner,” Lavarnway said. He added that Time Warner had not yet submitted its new contract, but that the town was not eliminating Time Warner service.

Fleming is the 156th Verizon municipal franchise for FiOS TV service in New York state. The services in central New York are expected to be turned on for municipalities later in the year, after necessary video equipment is built and installed in local central offices. Right now Verizon provides service in the Buffalo area and lines here will connect into that network, Verizon spokesperson John J. Bonomo said, adding that the company was still keeping some of its marketing plans close to the vest.

“We are talking with other towns and villages in the area,” Bonomo said, “but we're in a very competitive business. Our competition would love to know our road map.”