Gaines leadership has failed town residents

Editor:

Typically I tend to be more outspoken on county issues, not as much on local town issues. However, the recent revelations about the Albion Fire Department’s contract with the Town of Gaines and potential litigation against the town for slander have motivated me to speak up about the issues.

It is my understanding that Supervisor Culhane and the Town Board had been well aware that the contract was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2015. Instead of being proactive by appropriately budgeting and allocating resources, under Supervisor Culhane’s leadership, the Town Board has failed the taxpayers and residents of the town of Gaines.

The actions (or inactions) of Supervisor Culhane and the Town Board have greater implications than one might see on the surface – on the surface it is evident that the residents in the Town of Gaines will not have fire protection after Aug. 31.

However, if you look deeper – taxpayers will likely see their fire insurance costs increase, the AFD will see a dramatic reduction in its manpower, and what does this mean for the insurance costs of businesses in Gaines? All of these are issues that were not considered when our elected officials allowed the contract to end.

Also, taxpayer dollars have been wasted on legal fees by fighting the windmill on the property of Chris and Karen Watt. Now, with their intentions of suing the town and four town officials, more taxpayer money will likely be wasted fighting the litigation in the court system -all from careless leadership on the part of Supervisor Culhane.

Once again in the Town of Gaines, we have been failed. Poor strategic planning and failed leadership have been at the expense of taxpayers for too long. Something needs to change – it is my hope that these prime examples of failed leadership do not slip the minds of voters when the elected officials are up for re-election.

Sincerely,

James White
Gaines