Medina adds late fees to Ridgeway, Shelby for not paying bills for water charge
2 towns together have billed about $60,000 by Medina last 2 years for ad valorem charges
Photos by Tom Rivers: This photo from Aug. 8, 2016 shows a worker from DN Tanks putting a second coat of paint on Medina’s 3-million-gallon water tank. DN Tank also made several repairs to the water tank that was initially built in 1959 on Route 31A. The tank holds water from the Niagara County Water District. The Village of Medina’s water system also feeds water districts in Shelby and Ridgeway.
MEDINA – The Medina Village Board isn’t backing off collecting money from the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway with their shares of an ad valorem charge from the Niagara County Water District.
The NCWD supplies Medina, Shelby and most of Ridgeway with its water. The NCWD bills Medina about $136,000 annually in an ad valorem charge as an out-of-district user. That charge helps pay for infrastructure and operations of the Water District.
Village Attorney Matt Brooks told the Village Board on Monday it is obligated to collect the ad valorem charges from Shelby and Ridgeway, and may need to take legal action if the towns continue to not pay the bill.
Medina has been bearing the full bill itself, even though a study from 2013 called for Ridgeway to pay 5.02 percent of the bill and Shelby to contribute 17.98 percent. That is their share of the bill based on their water usage back in 2013. (Medina officials expect the towns are using a higher percentage now after adding water districts since 2013.)
Medina, however, didn’t seek to collect the ad valorem charge from the two towns until September 2024.
Shelby was billed $23,554.81 and Ridgeway was billed $6,576.48. Neither has paid.
They were billed again in September 2025, with Shelby’s amount at $23,193.84 and Ridgeway’s at $6,475.70.
The Medina Village Board is determined to get those funds, and will be assessing 10 percent late fees as it does with all of its water customers who don’t pay on time.
Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman said she has reached out to the town supervisors at both towns to tell them the money is owed, per their contract with Medina. The village sells water to the two towns that comes from the Niagara County Water District.
Sherman said Brian Napoli, the Ridgeway town supervisor, doesn’t think Ridgeway needs to pay. Jim Heminway, the Shelby town supervisor, has asked the town attorney to review the issue, Sherman said.
Village Attorney Matt Brooks advised the board on Monday that the village may need to take legal action if the two towns continue to refuse payment.
“This is an issue of a contractual breach,” he said. “It’s in violation of a contract.”
The Medina mayor said she is trying to reach an amicable agreement with the two municipalities.
“It’s not out of spite,” Sherman said about the bills from the village to the towns. “We want to be good neighbors but we are obligated to collect this amount based on the contract.”
