Depew dissolution

[Dan Roman]

Many decisions to be made regarding fate of Depew



http://www.lancasterbee.com/news/201..._of_Depew.html





You owe it now and you'll owe it afterwards. You'll notice no difference.



You'll have services supplied by some of the same people and you will remove a layer of administration you frankly don't need. Go to see http://seethroughny.net/ and look what your paying out.

Isn't the depew fire volunteer? That won't change. You will still be billed for what that service cost just like we do in Cheektowaga. Right? It's a line item on our tax bill. That will stay the same.




That won't change either. You got saddled with the debt by the small group of people who have had a monopoly on the village for decades.. right?

Look at the bright side. The layer of administration you remove will allow those funds to go and pay off this debt a little faster. That is a good thing.

Is the Village of Depew a friends and family employment agency?

State money is available for dissolution studies and administrative expenses. When the vote gets passed, I wonder if Albany would come through with some money to pay off some of the outstanding debt?

[WNYresident]

State money is available for dissolution studies and administrative expenses. When the vote gets passed, I wonder if Albany would come through with some money to pay off some of the outstanding debt?

I think the local registered Democrats should start thinking of the "product" they are supporting as the elections are on the way.

Think about this. You have Andrew Cuomo wanting to take upwards of $100,000,000 of our dollars to give to people who want to come into NYS from over seas. Each application fee is about $680 bucks.

http://www.speakupwny.com/forums/sho...on+application

From that thread I posted....

If many immingrants can't afford the $680 application fee how do they afford living expenses in general once here?

160,000 X $680 = $108,800,000 That is money we could be putting away in our IRAs, cover the obnoxious property taxes we pay and our own well being.

Look at the debt Depew has from the sewer project. That 100,000,000 could go to pay off the debt or originally used towards our infrastructure INSTEAD OF GIVING IT AWAY on something that isn't needed.

You know why Andrew wants to give this money away. Votes and think about this. Population loss. That 160,000 people offsets the population loss NYS sees over the last 20+ years because of taxes.

Wouldn't you rather see that $100,000,000 go towards issues we face in our community instead of pandering?

[Neubs24]

Referendum coming!

http://www.buffalonews.com/city-regi...depew-20160921

The battle to dissolve Depew village government is now real.

Advocates who want the village government eliminated this week filed a petition with 1,712 signatures, which, pending validation, would be far more than the number required to force a public referendum.

Now, village officials are forced to deal with the likelihood that residents could be voting as early as December on whether to dissolve the 124-year-old, 5-square-mile village of 15,000 residents.

“I am not surprised, but was surprised at the number of signatures they turned in,” Mayor Jesse C. Nikonowicz said Wednesday night. “I don’t think we’ll be able to challenge a sufficient number, so I believe it will go to a public referendum.”

Approximately 975 signatures – representing 10 percent of the number of registered voters from the last election – must be validated in order for the village to schedule a vote.

Joan M. Priebe, a former village clerk, and resident Irvine G. Reinig II spearheaded the door-to-door petitioning that began in earnest last June. It sparked a lot of talk among municipal employees fearing that they could lose their jobs. But other residents feel that they could save money on their taxes, pointing to the village government’s spiraling debt and spending.

Depew has never voted on dissolution. Two-thirds of the village lies in Cheektowaga, with the remaining third in the Town of Lancaster. If a referendum to dissolve the village is passed, both of those communities would have to absorb Depew.

This is the first time that petitions have been circulated to force a referendum in Depew. Village Administrator Maureen T. Jerackas said her phone at Village Hall has been flooded with calls from the public about the petition.

“Some people are upset and said they thought we were merging and every one would keep their jobs, and that’s not the case,” she said. “Others are calling to say they were misled and said they thought it was for a study.”

The village clerk determines how many of the 1,712 signatures are valid. After a 10-day window, ending next Thursday, a determination is made whether there are enough valid signatures for a referendum. If there are, a vote would be scheduled between 60 and 90 days from that date.

Meanwhile, the Vote-Depew organization, which wants to keep the village intact, will sponsor a question-and-answer forum at 7 p.m. Oct. 6 at Depew High School.

email: krobinson@buffnews.com

[WNYresident]

I don't know if you can read this facebook page

There is a discussion about eliminating the Village. People look like they are trying to use scare tactics if the Village is dissolved. The end of fire protection. The volly hall won't vanish, the equipment won't vanish and you still have the same volunteers. One thing that will be different is who is collecting the taxes for that group. Where the bill comes from.


https://www.facebook.com/groups/1134...74495613594620



They refer back to this old Speakup article

http://www.speakupwny.com/article_1465.shtml

[Dan Roman]

But what will happen to their bloated police force and the revenue they bring to the village by writing tickets? better get the resumes updated

[WNYresident]

But what will happen to their bloated police force and the revenue they bring to the village by writing tickets? better get the resumes updated

Some of the bloated police force from another town will handle those tickets but you will eliminate much of the administration to run the Village. Positive part is those savings can go DIRECTLY to pay down what debt the property owners have.

You have to have intelligent people handle the dissolution. You want the very best interest of the property/business owners to come first.

This is interesting

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.

I responded

Tony Fracasso

Todd Rez What atmosphere? You can actually feel a difference when you step into the Village of Depew? I drive around our area. What difference do you notice other than the differences we see with home building based on people's income level? What do you gain with your extra "village property tax" that I'm not getting as a service in the town of Cheektowaga?

TJ Rez

How about the atmosphere of being able to enjoy our parks without the risk of getting shot? Or enjoying a baseball game at a village field without 9 vehicles being broken into in the parking lot during broad daylight. How about the ability to call the DPW to pick up brush, or for a sewer backup, and the problem is taken care of by noon. How about being able to call the police and them being right around the corner, at all times, and not concentrated on some city line. How about a fire department that not only answers the call for help, but engages with the community at all village events. Some enjoy the town life. Some enjoy the more personalized Village life. That's why I chose to live in a village, and you chose to live in a town. I'm pretty sure that if it was posed to Town residents to dissolve and merge with the City, most would say no for the same exact reasons.

So does the town of Cheektowaga have multiple vehicles being broken into at baseball games?

What is personalized village life?

[Electric Eye]

The village atmosphere complete with a notorious motorcycle gang clubhouse....lol

[WNYresident]

The village atmosphere complete with a notorious motorcycle gang clubhouse....lol

That is the type of stuff I refer to as "so really what is different" over all.

When the Cheektowaga Democratic Party tries to justify the high taxes they have created they state "Look at all the town services we provide". Many home/business owners don't give a crap when they see their tax bill. Many services may only be used by very few people so in the end why have them. One example that came to mind is a budget to have ceramic classes at the senior center. A drop in the bucket out of the entire budget but in the end is it really needed? Supply the area for the seniors worse case but let volunteers/attendees cover all their own cost.

I've also been told the senior center is basically a political haven't for the Cheektowaga Democratic Party. Is that possible?

[jennifer7]

Depew and the Town of Lancaster could contract with the Village of Lancaster fire dept. The village has 2 stations and 3 pumpers & 1 ladder truck which is enough apparatus to cover a population up to 100,000. and save the taxpayers millions & millions on duplication + duplication + duplication + duplication + duplication + duplication + duplication + duplication + duplication apparatus & take home new SUV's, yet apparatus fleets are still growing, Only in WNY do you see Fire Stations that look like the town DPW or town Highway garage.

[Electric Eye]

That is the type of stuff I refer to as "so really what is different" over all.

When the Cheektowaga Democratic Party tries to justify the high taxes they have created they state "Look at all the town services we provide". Many home/business owners don't give a crap when they see their tax bill. Many services may only be used by very few people so in the end why have them. One example that came to mind is a budget to have ceramic classes at the senior center. A drop in the bucket out of the entire budget but in the end is it really needed? Supply the area for the seniors worse case but let volunteers/attendees cover all their own cost.

I've also been told the senior center is basically a political haven't for the Cheektowaga Democratic Party. Is that possible?

It's true, $5000+ in ceramics is just one more example of the out of control spending and mentality of current and past Cheektowaga town employees and board members. The town boards 2016 budget spends $1200+ for every single resident in the town.

[WNYresident]

It's true, $5000+ in ceramics is just one more example of the out of control spending and mentality of current and past Cheektowaga town employees and board members. The town boards 2016 budget spends $1200+ for every single resident in the town.

The out of control issues are labor contracts/bene's.

Does anyone know how many taxable properties are in Cheektowaga?

[Neubs24]

How about the atmosphere of being able to enjoy our parks without the risk of getting shot? Or enjoying a baseball game at a village field without 9 vehicles being broken into in the parking lot during broad daylight. How about the ability to call the DPW to pick up brush, or for a sewer backup, and the problem is taken care of by noon. How about being able to call the police and them being right around the corner, at all times, and not concentrated on some city line. How about a fire department that not only answers the call for help, but engages with the community at all village events. Some enjoy the town life. Some enjoy the more personalized Village life. That's why I chose to live in a village, and you chose to live in a town. I'm pretty sure that if it was posed to Town residents to dissolve and merge with the City, most would say no for the same exact reasons.

This guy is delusional. I get all that in Lancaster. Crime knows no borders. He's talking about Cheektowaga Town Park I presume. Clearly he never ventures to the other side of Transit Road, where he would see that there's a clear delineation between the village he chose and the town and village of Lancaster. On Main Street/Sawyer it's rather stark, and it almost literally starts at the sign denoting the village line. The parts of Depew bounded by Wayne St. on the east, Walden on the north, Como on the south and Transit on the west is mostly a dump. And there are sections beyond that that are bad too, namely the straight stretch of Argus Drive and the Sable Palm area in Cheektowaga. In the winter, you can tell when you're leaving Lancaster by the potholes and poorly plowed roads.

[grump]

Be careful what you ask for. You just might get it!

[WNYresident]

[gorja]

Do you really think that the NY conference of mayors aren't going to be biased?

Do you really think they would encourage their voters to vote to eliminate their (mayors) jobs?