Towns and villages are preparing an answer for the county executive who wants them to pay for sheriff's road patrols.


The answer is No.

"We are not paying for road patrol. It's a double tax on the residents," Elma Supervisor Michael P. Nolan said.

Erie County Executive Joel A. Giambra sent a letter to 20 towns and villages and the Seneca Nation of Indians telling them to pay their share of $5.9 million for road patrols next year or go without the sheriff's service. Each community's share is based on the number of calls logged in the town over the last two years, plus 5.25 percent for inflation.
They are to pay one-third next year, two-thirds in 2008 and the full amount in 2009.

"This is part of our four-year plan that has been adopted by the County Legislature and the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority," Giambra said.
The county executive asked for replies by July 1, and if the towns agree to the charge, the sheriff's office will enter into a contract with them.
"Should you not enter into such a contract, the county will no longer be able to provide patrol service," Giambra's letter states.

Both sides seem to expect the issue will wind up in court. The communities maintain that the sheriff is constitutionally required to protect them, and the county executive says road patrols are not mandated.

Towns also say that it is not fair to charge them for their use of patrol services, if other towns are not charged for their use of Central Police Services, the Holding Center, libraries, roads, parks and other services.
"There are many, many services throughout county government the towns pay for that they don't get," Nolan said. "To single one out, road patrol, is wrong."

Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, who last week attended a meeting of representatives from the towns, villages and Seneca Nation, agrees.
"If a family chooses to use a private school instead of public school, it doesn't mean they are exempt from paying for public schools," Howard said.

He said the larger towns and the City of Buffalo should be concerned that they might be next in line to pay for services they use, such as the Holding Center and the Central Police Services lab.

Clarence's full bill for the sheriff's patrols would be about $1 million, and Supervisor Kathleen E. Hallock says the town is opposed to paying.
"We do feel it is the duty of the sheriff to provide safety," she said. "I believe the towns are united in this."
Not so, says Giambra.

"There are towns that pay to have that service provided, and we're hearing from those who pay who are saying it's not fair," Giambra said.
He said towns and villages have been given a windfall in sales tax revenue and want free road patrols but do not want county taxes to increase.
"These are the same people who want to go heaven but don't want to die," he said.
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