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#Post#: 1069--------------------------------------------------
ECNA emails Brockport Village Trustee about recent Budget
Meeting
DIR By: Doug K
Date: April 26, 2020, 3:30 pm
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If you are tired of high Village Taxes you can also try to
contact your Village Trustees and ask them the tough questions
about Village Reorganization and how to lower taxes by
consolidating redundant government. After my emails to the
Brockport Village Mayor I also contacted a Village Trustee, just
to be sure I had a few people considering this as a solution.
Here's my email to Trustee Crane of the Brockport Village Board
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Trustee Crane,
Thank you for speaking up in last night’s Village Board Meeting
about your apprehension with the 2020-21 Brockport Village
Budget passing during a pandemic, with salary raises included
for some village employees, including yourself. I understand
your concern on the “optics” of what was happening. I was
surprised that more did not speak out, as it appeared to me that
the terms “challenging & difficult” were being used way too much
regarding this years planned budget. It’ was nice to see that
someone cared enough to try and “do the right thing”.
As you know I did attend the Zoom Call, it was enlightening to
say the least.
On the budget...it was mentioned that it’s possible the $6.1
million dollar budget, that the board passed unanimously, may
have to run into reserves and possibly run out of money due to
shortfalls caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. That should have
been very concerning to most village taxpayers but few seem to
care enough about how their tax dollars are used these days. It
seemed that maybe a few more group sessions may have helped iron
out a better budget, with less risk, this budget seemed rushed.
I am not sure the answer I heard that the village “won’t spend
any money” near the end of the budget year, will work, the
Village Board passed a budget that costs Brockport Village
Taxpayers $16712 per day to keep the village government job
stream running. The majority of that goes to employees,
benefits, pensions and healthcare... including out of pocket
medical as I heard.
My bigger concern about last night’s meeting was this: More time
was spent discussing who is eligible for sidewalk café permits,
and how many tables should be allowed than what conversation
took place to adopt a Village Government Operating Budget with
so many uncertainties that NO private company or business would
ever allow to pass.
The budget went up by $170 THOUSAND DOLLARS, and the majority of
that was to pay village employee benefits & salaries and you
folks discussed sidewalk café tables, barriers, and if the
tables should come off the street at night??? Really? People are
out of work, losing loved ones, and the main topic was what
would benefit Brockport Merchants?
Couldn’t someone have said that maybe personnel cuts cut be
made? Could someone have asked how to LOWER the budget and
decrease the taxpayer burden by offering an early retirement
bonus? In the entire meeting not one mention of SAVING money for
TAXPAYERS... but we did SPEND their money for a new $1200
drilling auger to plant Arbor Day trees because volunteers won’t
be there due to the NY PAUSE effort.
Cancel the order, don’t buy or plant the trees, and try to
remember that taxpayers are getting hit HARD with the Town, and
the Village Taxes right now. The village employees don’t have to
worry about losing jobs or pay, it’s being funded by the village
taxpayers and the state of NY.
And the Village is an expensive, redundant, unnecessary and
outdated layer of New York State local government according to
recent changes in laws. You can see ALL that information on this
website -
HTML https://ecna.us/grace/
Village government is a “luxury” in New York State since 2010,
when state lawmakers made it easier for village residents to ask
their villages leadership to consider developing a Local Govt.
Reorganization Plan. That LGe Reorganization Plan is FREE, yet
no one in the meeting last night thought that might be a
solution to an ever rising Village Budget that taxpayers have no
say in approving?
HTML https://www.dos.ny.gov/funding/
I am asking as an “empowered citizen”, will you consider doing
what’s right for Village Residents and supporting an independent
Brockport Village Government Reorganization study, paid for
under NY State grants for this work, to settle once and for all
the question of whether Brockport can be run more efficiently
with less burden to Village Taxpayers?
You were the ONLY one to step forward and do the right thing
last night in the Village Board meeting... are you willing to
help out village taxpayers?
Please, consider what NY State local government employees are
supposed to be doing every day, follow State Laws, and do what’s
best for the public you are serving.
Sometimes that is simply acknowledging that you are part of the
problem and it’s time to get out of the way so a better solution
can be achieved.
HTML https://ecna.us/grace/brockport-village-reorganization/
Thank you for your time, and thank you again for being a lone
voice for reasonable budget creation in this difficult time. If
you would like to reply or discuss this further I am willing to
meet. That can be over the phone, or maybe we stand 6’ apart and
have a discussion. You know how to reach me.
Sincerely,
Doug Kucmerowski
54 Quarry St
#Post#: 1070--------------------------------------------------
Re: ECNA emails Brockport Village Trustee about recent Budget
Meeting
DIR By: Doug K
Date: April 26, 2020, 3:58 pm
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And of course it garnered a reply... from both the Trustee & the
Mayor
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[attachimg=2]
The answer I was fishing for was easy enough to catch, the
admonishment that the New York State Government Reorganization
and Citizen Empowerment Act (GRACE) was understood as a
definitive measure by New York Lawmakers to reduce the amount of
local government. I have included the part that should matter
most to ANY village resident anywhere, why village leaders
resist this local government reorganization effort.
[attachimg=3]
This Trustee shared her opinion on Village Government, from the
perspective of someone receiving a paycheck and power of being a
Village Trustee. The truth is well known in Brockport about the
Village & Town Governments NOT getting along too well, so for
our village it's more on the "power struggle" side for control
of 2.2 square miles of real estate
Most Village Officials simply will not accept that the Village
system of local government may be outdated and that NY can
benefit GREATLY from having only THREE layers of Government
Management instead of four.. New York Lawmakers agree on this:
State - County - Town.
And they agree that eliminating VILLAGE will reduce middle
management by 25% and most likely eliminate costs by a similar
amount.
It's just math... unless you ask a Village Mayor or a Village
Trustee.
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