TJ Rez
Village residents know the value of a village. We appreciate the atmosphere a village offers. We appreciate the first rate services a village offers. And we appreciate the fact that our village is safe, and doesn't have murders like an adjacent town. In a village, you feel like you have a say. THATS WHY WE MOVED HERE. In a town, you're just a number lost in the abiss. And getting back to the district vs department thing? Ever wonder why these fire districts have million dollar halls, million dollar budgets, and top notch equipment purchased every couple of years, while village departments routinely run 25-30 yr old trucks and outdated equipment? Yea, it's not the taxpayer that benefits from a fire district. The service is the same, but at an immense cost. Some local private fire companies in these districts have yearly pizza budgets that rival a village fire departments' yearly OPERATING budget. If vlg government dissolves, all village equipment and buildings are sold off,. Nothing is kept. But, the vlg is selling off antiquated equipment and even more antique structures. Village equipment and the bldgs will be sold off for pennies on the dollar. Plain and simple, the village residents, my neighbors, and even some of my family were directly lied to by the petitioners to get their signatures. "Sign this to have a say, or the vlg will automatically dissolve". "The police, fire, and dpw are all for this". "You're gonna save a thousand dollars a year". The town of Cheektowaga is one of the highest taxed municpilaties in the county, with crime that includes murders, burglaries, etc. To that, I say no sir. I'll keep my village. You can keep your town.