Officials from Ridgeway, Shelby offer ways to reduce taxes

MEDINA – If the village of Medina dissolves, the two towns expected to pick up villages services don’t plan to continue the Medina Police Department.

The Orleans County Sheriff’s Department and State Police could assume the police work, town officials said Friday while meeting with some reporters.

The Medina Dissolution Committee recommended police protection be provided in a town-wide force that would cover Ridgeway and Shelby. Ridgeway would manage the police and contract with Shelby for the service, according to the Dissolution Plan.

The police department budget is about $1 million a year. Brian Napoli, the Ridgeway town supervisor, told The Daily News of Batavia he doesn’t support a town-wide force. The Sheriff’s Department and State Police could handle police calls in the community, he said.

“There’s a ripple effect if the village dissolves into the two towns, and people don’t see a need for another level of police protection,” he told The Daily News. “They’re happy with Sheriff’s Department and State Police. They don’t see a need to expand it, especially when they see a 46 percent tax increase.”

Napoli and Skip Draper, the Shelby town supervisor, held a press conference on Friday to discuss alternatives to dissolving the village. (Orleans Hub wasn’t invited to the press conference and is the target of a mailer from the two towns about “biased reporting.”)

The Daily News of Batavia reported on the press conference. For more, visit thedailynewsonline.org and search for “Medina dissolution: Supervisors say more options exist for services.”

The Medina Dissolution Committee last week approved a plan to be presented to the public and Village Board. The plan retains existing services and staff. The two towns would assume many of the services currently provided in the village. The Dissolution Committee also suggested creating a debt district for village debt, a fire district, and local development corporations or authorities for water and sewer.

The committee and its consultant, the Center for Governmental Research in Rochester, calculated a $277,000 savings in reduced operational costs. That isn’t much of a savings when spread over the budgets for the two towns and village, about $11 million total, the town supervisors told The Daily News.

That is less than a 3 percent savings.

“If we assume the $277,000 is correct, we’re on a pretty narrow margin, and we’re gambling on a pretty narrow margin that we’re going to save anything,” Draper told The Daily News.

The state provides incentives for dissolution or government consolidations. The Dissolution Committee and CGR say the state would give $540,000 in incentives annually, money that the state says can be counted on for years to come.

Napoli said told The Daily News he supports some shared services, such as code enforcement and merged water billing. Those services could be shared without a dissolution, he said.

The Committee’s report said village property owners could see their tax rates fall from $5 to $7 per $1,000 of assessed property, while outside village residents in Shelby would see an 81 cent increase in their tax rate and Ridgeway residents would have their rate go up $3.12.

Ridgeway’s rate would increase 46 percent. That is partly because the town portion outside the village currently has the lowest rate of the three governments: $6.71 per $1,000 of assessed property. That would go to $9.83 with the dissolution.

Village residents in Ridgeway would see their rate drop by $5.20 or 27 percent from $19.49 per $1,000 of assessed property to $14.30. In Shelby, village residents currently pay a $19.80 rate for village and town taxes. That would drop 34 percent to $13.10 or by $6.70 if the dissolution plan takes effect.

Shelby residents would see a 10 percent increase in their tax rate, according to the dissolution plan. Outside-village residents would see their rate go from $8.36 per $1,000 of assessed property to $9.17.

Medina Mayor Andrew Meier and the “One Medina” group ultimately would like to see the village dissolve and the two towns merge into one entity. That would provide more cost savings with government efficiency and attract more state incentives for consolidation.

Meier believes those gains in savings and state aid would likely offset the tax increases for outside-village residents with the dissolution.

Editorial

MEDINA – They say they are the source for facts on proposed dissolution of the Village of Medina because Medina Mayor Andrew Meier and his hand-picked committee have skewered the details in a Dissolution Plan.

The Town Boards of Ridgeway and Shelby say they offer the “facts” on the dissolution, yet they don’t say how the details are being “skewered.” They allege impropriety from Meier and a Dissolution Committee, but don’t offer any “facts” to back up the claims.

The two Towns Boards have stepped up their efforts to undermine Meier, accusing him of mismanaging the finances of the village. There is nothing to back up this claim. No report from the comptroller’s office. No audit. They have nothing specific, but the two Town Boards have started a smear campaign, questioning Meier’s integrity and competence.

I don’t think anyone expected officials from the two towns to readily embrace the dissolution of the village. For nearly 200 years the village has paid the lion’s share of the bills and provided the bulk of the services in the Medina community. Village residents have a much bigger tax bill than their neighbors outside the village boundaries. Many of the village services – fire, ambulance and police – often go outside village boundaries for services on the village’s dime.

The village tax base has shrunk in recent years. The houses are falling in value while the assessments grow outside the village in the two towns. Moving outside the village can save a homeowner about $1,000 in taxes each year. That is quite an incentive to leave.

Meier is 34 years old. He doesn’t see how the village can prosper long-term with such a disparity between the village tax rate and the rate for those outside the village, especially when the latter enjoy many of the village services without paying towards them.

Village residents not only pay village taxes but they also get taxed by the town. It’s a tough deal for the village residents. A fair-minded person would question the disparity in taxes and should want to do something about it.

Meier has pushed the issue. Other communities have done consolidation and shared services studies, but they seldom go anywhere. It’s a lot of work coming up with a plan. You’re going to anger constituencies. You, unfortunately, will pay a price. That, sadly, is a fact and the two Town Boards are making sure of that in Medina.

They have hired a PR consultant and a press release that went out Sunday felt like an attack on Meier. He was the only one singled out by name despite several people working on the dissolution plan.

None of Town Board members will speak to the media, including the two town supervisors, Skip Draper in Shelby and Brian Napoli of Ridgeway.

You can submit them questions through a hotline or Facebook page. Those questions won’t be seen by the public and the “Towns” will respond on Facebook or they will issue a press release to selected media members. I was told Orleans Hub is on the list, but our repeated requests for a press release went nowhere. Another reporter forwarded it to me on Monday.

I had no idea the Orleans County press corps struck such fear in the hearts of the two Town Boards. Jim Krencik from The Daily News in Batavia, Howie Balaban from The Journal-Register in Medina, and I have the two Town Boards taking what may be an unprecedented step in the history of our democracy. They will not talk to reporters.

Everything must be funneled through a PR consultant. They will take residents’ questions through a Facebook message or you can leave a message on a hotline.

I have been a reporter in Orleans County for 18 years. Not everyone likes me, but I think everyone tolerates me, even when they don’t like questions. Draper and Napoli are both veterans in their positions and they should know answering an occasional phone call from a reporter is part of the territory.

President Barack Obama will take reporters’ questions, and he’ll do it live in front of the cameras. Even Vladimir Putin talks to reporters in Russia.

But the Town Boards in Shelby and Ridgeway desperately want to control the message, even if it means spreading innuendo.

The two towns have a “Dissolution Facts” Facebook page that is run by an anonymous “Towns.” No name of a town official is credited with any of the comments that have pointed criticism of the dissolution plan approved by a committee last Thursday.

I have covered some scandals and everyone who had a fall from grace at least stood before the cameras and public and answered some painful and embarrassing questions. They didn’t shrink and hide. I give them credit for “facing the music” in a difficult situation.

I really don’t understand the Ridgeway and Shelby stance. Why hide behind an anonymous Facebook page or a PR consultant?

These are hardly embarrassing questions: What do you think of the dissolution plan? How might it be improved? The village residents are also town residents – how will you serve them?

The increase in taxes for outside-village residents can likely be offset if the two towns merge. Will you work towards a merger or cost savings with Ridgeway/Shelby? If no, then why not?

Town officials decline to speak directly to the media

MEDINA – The towns of Shelby and Ridgeway have hired a public relations professional to connect with the media and release information from the towns’ perspective about a possible dissolution of the village of Medina.

Shelby and Ridgeway hired Andina Barone, owner of Mindful Medina Group. She also works with the Orleans Economic Development Agency to write press releases and contact members of the media.

She said officials from the two towns won’t be taking interview requests from the media right now, but will be releasing information in the upcoming weeks.

The Town Boards from Ridgeway and Shelby issued a joint statement, questioning why no one from one of their boards was on the Dissolution Committee. They also alleged poor fiscal management from village officials have led to the push to dissolve.

“Accurate data and detailed information on the potential tax impact to residents and efficient delivery of municipal services has not been forthcoming from Medina Mayor Andrew Meier’s office,” according to the press release. “Town officials believe the dissolution process is flawed. It is their position, and that of the respective board members, that the Mayor of Medina should first address his own lack of fiscal management in relation to the Village of Medina, before attempting to dissolve it.”

Meier and the Dissolution Committee see dissolving the village as a way to bring down a tax rate for village property owners that is the highest in the Finger Lakes region. That tax rate includes the village, town, county and school.

Dissolution would shave about $5 to $7 off the overall village rate that is about $54 per $1,000 of assessed property. The town leaders previously told the media they weren’t inclined to follow the dissolution plan. They haven’t said how they would provide services to village residents if the village dissolved. Village residents also live in either the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway and pay taxes to those municipalities.

The Dissolution Committee includes Meier, Village Trustee Mark Irwin, retired Arc of Orleans Director Don Colquhoun, Medina Business Association President and downtown business owner Cindy Robinson, Charlie Slack of Slack Insurance and Thurston Dale, a retired veterinarian.

“It is a travesty that Ridgeway and Shelby town board members were not included in a dissolution plan or public announcements that might greatly impact both towns,” according to the press release from the two Town Boards.

“Town board members and residents of Shelby and Ridgeway have become increasingly frustrated by the lack of information available to the public and the manner in which the mayor chooses to conduct meetings.

“Dissolution Committee meetings are held at 8 a.m. in City Hall (600 Main Street) in the upper level of the old court room, which is not handicapped accessible. There are no questions allowed. Both town supervisors are of the opinion the mayor’s choice of time, location and format was strategic, so as to limit the number of residents able to observe the proceedings and gather information.

“Both supervisors and all town board members of Ridgeway and Shelby will remain steadfast in their efforts to communicate the facts about dissolution to the community and serve residents in a manner worthy of their trust and confidence.”

The two towns have a Facebook page about “Dissolution Facts” and also have launched a web site: 2towns4ThePeople.com.

Meier and local attorney Nathan Pace on Thursday announced a push for “One Medina” that would dissolve the village and merge the two towns into one municipality: The Town of Medina.

MEDINA – As a plan for dissolving the village of Medina nears completion, a new “One Medina” movement is set to launch.

“One Medina” will be led by attorney Nathan Pace. He was chairman of the Medina-Ridgeway-Shelby Study Committee in 2010 and 2011. The group recommended the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway merge and the village dissolve to become one government.

That Pace-led committee saw a 30 percent reduction in taxes for the three governments if they became one entity.

The current village dissolution plan forecast about $1 million in reduction of the local tax burden by dissolving the village and passing its services to the two towns and local development corporations. Those numbers will be presented in more detail on Thursday.

Pace and Medina Mayor Andrew Meier see more savings if the two towns pursue a merger if the village dissolves. That would reduce the cost for delivering government services and also attract state incentives. Both would reduce a tax burden that is a disincentive to attracting residents, businesses and investment, Meier said.

The committee working on a dissolution plan for the village of Medina expects to have numbers on Thursday that will show the impact on taxes for people who live in the village and those who are outside in the towns of Shelby and Ridgeway.

That data will be discussed during an 8 a.m. meeting at City Hall. The dissolution plan is expected to be voted on by the committee. It will then go to the Village Board. Ultimately, for the dissolution to take effect it will need approval from village residents in a public vote.

Meier will hold a press conference Thursday at 12:30 p.m. He will be joined at City Hall by Pace and Don Colquhoun, chairman of the dissolution committee.

Officials from the two towns have Facebook pages and also a web site about the village dissolution. They call their web site, 2towns4thepeople.com.

MEDINA – A committee preparing a dissolution plan for the village of Medina has moved back its next meeting by a week. The Medina Dissolution Committee will next meet at 8 a.m. on April 10 at City Hall on Main Street.

One of the committee members couldn’t be at the April 3 meeting, so it was pushed back a week, said Don Colquhoun, the committee chairman.

The committee expects to have data soon on how a village dissolution would affect tax rates for property in the village and also outside the village in the towns of Ridgeway and Shelby.

The consultants on the dissolution plan, the Center for Governmental Research, said the Medina community would see $1 million in local tax savings through a dissolution of the village with about $350,000 in reduced operational costs and $650,000 in additional state aid.

The $350,000 in savings represent about 3.2 percent of the combined $11 million budgets for the village and the two towns. The impact could have been greater, but a dissolution committee wants to preserve services and staff at existing levels.

Editorial

Town officials from Ridgeway and Shelby have come out strong in the past two weeks, blaming the village of Medina for doing a poor job of keeping residents apprised of a possible village dissolution.

The two towns have used taxpayer dollars to send out a mailer offering “facts” about the dissolution. This mailer went out right before the village election and helped elect two write-in candidates over incumbents who favored looking into dissolution.

The two towns have an ad on Orleans Hub, promoting “Cares and Concerns” hotline. Residents are encouraged to “record your questions and concerns about the proposed dissolution of the Village of Medina.”

They have two Facebook pages – “Medina Dissolution Facts”and “Dissolution Facts” – devoted to dissolution, offering to take all questions and provide answers that are not forthcoming from the village.

The towns have criticized the village for not being more public about the dissolution meetings and documents, but yet the hotline is a private line and the questions can only be seen by the towns. The Facebook pages only seem to allow public posts from the towns’ point of view. Medina Andrew Meier posted on the page but his comments were taken down. So was a story from Medina Journal-Register reporter Howard Balaban. He checked with the state, which said promised state aid for a dissolution was a sure thing, forever. That is about $650,000 in extra state aid annually to the community. The towns took down the link to Balaban’s article.

The towns owe it to the community to say who is running this page. Are the five members from each Town Board united in every comment? Or is one town official managing the site? Or is someone being paid to run the pages?

And why aren’t comments allowed to stay on the page, especially from the village mayor who is seeking to offer the village’s side of the story? The towns proclaim these sites are a forum, but they seem very one-sided, with the towns trying to control the information.

That is no way for a democracy to function, especially when people – according to the towns – are hungry for “facts” about the dissolution.

Better yet, the towns should put out their plan for what would happen with a village dissolution. Town officials have been dismissive of the entire dissolution process, saying studies are a waste of money because the two towns don’t have to follow the Dissolution Committee’s recommended plan. Well, Shelby and Ridgeway Town Boards, what exactly is your plan?

Village residents very well could vote later this year to dissolve the village, and then it will be up to the towns to plow village streets and provide some services. The Dissolution Committee has tried to come up with an orderly dissolution plan for fire, police, water, sewer and other services. Ridgeway and Shelby have only said they don’t have to follow this plan.

The towns claim the public has been left in the dark about dissolution, but the meetings have been heavily covered in local media. The Center for Governmental Research has a trove of documents on its web site about the dissolution process so far.

The village and the Dissolution Committee are planning public hearings after a dissolution plan is voted on the Dissolution Committee. The towns are blaming the committee and village for not presenting a plan that has not yet fully taken shape.

The towns are trying to undermine the village’s elected leaders, to make them appear they are running a clandestine operation.

The towns for years have paid little attention to the village, despite village residents accounting for about half the population in the two towns.

Village residents pay a $16.45 village tax rate. If you have a $70,000 house, that is a crushing tax bill for about $1,150 in June. The village residents also get hit with a town tax bill in January. The Ridgeway rate is $3.10 per $1,000 and Shelby taxes village residents at a $3.42 rate.

Village residents also pay a $23.85 rate to the school district, a $10.11 rate to the county and a $1.30 rate to the library. The combined tax burden for village of Medina residents is the highest in the Finger Lakes region.

The Village Board is trying to do something about a tax burden that overwhelms many residents, the senior citizens on fixed incomes and families trying to live in Medina.

The Town Boards owe it to the community to weigh in with solutions and ideas for reducing that tax burden. That would make for a lively Facebook page.

Ridgeway supervisor says town is gauging public sentiment

MEDINA – Town officials from Shelby and Ridgeway on Friday sent a mailer to residents in the village of Medina and the two towns, offering to set the record straight about the village’s dissolution.

The letter matched one from December, which was published on the Orleans Hub and in other local media. (Click here to see it.)

Village Board members question why the two towns would send the letter a few days before the village election, especially when the letter was first published nearly three months ago.

“The timing is overtly political, which is troubling for a taxpayer-funded mailer,” said Andrew Meier, the village mayor.

Brian Napoli, the Ridgeway town supervisor, said Ridgeway and Shelby officials “wanted to get some facts out” about the dissolution, which he said is a concern of many residents in the community.

The timing of the letter wasn’t intended to influence the village election, which is on Tuesday, Napoli said.

“It’s when we were able to put it together,” he said getting the mailer to residents.

The two towns also took out an ad on Orleans Hub, advertising a hotline for people to share their concerns and questions about the dissolution. Napoli faulted the Village Board for not putting out more information about the dissolution.

“We’re gauging public sentiment,” he said.

Three incumbents – Meier for mayor, and trustees Patricia Crowley and David Barhite – appeared to be unopposed for two-year terms until Mike Sidari and Marguerite Sherman announced a write-in campaign for trustees last week.

The two write-in candidates sent out a flyer on Friday with instructions about filling out a write-in ballot.

The five-member Village Board – Meier, Barhite, Crowley, Mark Kruzynski and Mark Irwin – put out a press release on Saturday in response to the mailer from the towns.

“The letter contains many inaccuracies and omissions, and we wish to clarify,” the board said.

Here is the full news release from the Village Board:

First, some background: “Dissolution” is a legal process by which village government is wound up and its functions transferred to the towns or other entities. Dissolution does not impact our Post Office addresses, which would remain “Medina, New York, 14103,” nor the school, which would remain the Medina Central School District. “Medina” would remain a community with a place on the map due to its population concentration.

The Village began investigating the possibility of Dissolution after the Towns declined the Village’s numerous requests to pursue a 3-way municipal consolidation. Last summer, the Village Board appointed an independent committee to prepare a Dissolution Plan. Members are Don Colquhoun, Charlie Slack, Andrew Meier, Cindy Robinson, Mark Irwin and Thurston Dale.

The committee is working with the Center for Governmental Research (CGR), project consultant, to gather the data and propose a plan so the Village Board and residents can make an informed decision on how to proceed. Meetings have been open to the public and well attended.

Although the committee has already made many decisions, this process is not yet complete, nor is the tax impact known. The draft plan should be ready for public dissemination next month. Once the draft is complete, several public hearings will be held on the plan before it is presented to the Village Board. Then, the Village Board would determine whether or not to put the plan to a public referendum.

In preparing the plan, the committee decided that the final plan should:

1. Keep as many services in place as possible – such as fire, ambulance service, and police;

2. Minimize the impact of a dissolution on village employees;

3. Be implemented to the maximum extent possible by the Village Board, not the Town Boards; and

4. Require as few approvals of the State Legislature as possible.

As has been reported widely in local media, the committee has already recommend the retention of a paid police department, retention of a paid professional fire department and ambulance service, retention of local control over water and sewer infrastructure, and pay-down of village debt. Most other functions transfer to the Towns by law. While the cost and tax impacts of these recommendations will be fully known next month, CGR has projected that the plan would benefit our municipal budgets by about $1 million annually.

The Town’s letter contains several inaccurate and/or incomplete statements, as follows:

1. Police Department – An option not contemplated by the letter, and endorsed by the committee, is the creation of a town-wide police force, which would maintain local control over policing. Village police personnel would transfer to the new department, and the Towns would be responsible to create it. A special district for police was not recommended.

2. Fire and Ambulance Service – The committee recommends the creation of a Fire District to continue this service. Formation of the District and appointment of initial fire commissioners would be undertaken prior to dissolution by the Village Board, not the Town Boards. The Fire District would then carry on the paid fire and ambulance service, much as it works today.

3. Water/Sewer Service – The option selected by the committee was not mentioned in the Town’s letter: continuation of the service through a Local Development Corporation. The Village Board would form the corporation and transfer its water and sewer assets into the corporation prior to dissolution, which would continue to operate the water and sewer system after dissolution seamlessly. No action from the Town Boards or the State Legislature would be required.

4. Timing – the letter states that there would be only 18 months after a dissolution vote, if approved, before the village dissolves. This is not set in stone. The dissolution committee and Village Board can select any time frame for dissolution, which could be several years. Our Board would opt for a longer window that provides the Towns sufficient lead time to complete an orderly transition.

As the plan is finally released, we urge all residents to consider the entire plan, not just unrelated pieces. We also invite all Town and Village residents to attend the upcoming public hearings to learn about all options considered, which options were recommended, and what the impact would be on taxpayers and employees. Only then can any of us make an informed decision about our community’s future.