Simon wants to build on recent successes for Town of Yates
Editor:
I moved to the Town of Yates 18 years ago with my family after having served 21 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force which included tours as a helicopter pilot, at the U.S.A.F. Academy as a history teacher, and as a squadron commander responsible for hundreds of people and a multi-million-dollar budget.
Additionally, I taught history at GCC where I was also an associate dean overseeing first the Medina campus and then both the Medina and Albion campus centers.
I was elected Yates Town Supervisor on a write-in campaign in 2016. It has been a great privilege to serve the town in this capacity.
It was love at first sight when my wife and I first drove through the Town of Yates and the Village of Lyndonville. The friendly people, the beautiful rural landscape, and the majestic shoreline held our attention then, and still do today – we have great blessings in Yates!
As supervisor, working with the town departments and the town board to decide what gets funded (or not) in a $2 million annual budget is not something I’ve ever taken lightly. When forming committees and task forces these past eight years, this town board has made a conscious effort to include people from across the political spectrum and with diametrically opposed viewpoints; the recommendations from these groups to the town board have helped us make good decisions.
From the $2.5 million upgrade to our town park and the establishment of the town’s first 5-year fiscal plan, to the expansion of the public water system and the celebration of the town’s 200th anniversary – I am proud of what this town board has accomplished.
Going forward, if given the opportunity, the town board would like to explore the possibility of a biodigester for dairy farmers, to consider expanding the town park, to establish a town-wide Water District Geographic Information System to improve water management and emergency response, and to complete a comprehensive review and deconfliction of all town local laws by creating a completely digitized and searchable zoning regulation called eCode360.
As this election cycle comes to an end, I invite all Yates residents to vote. To learn more about what your town board is doing you might want to check out our revamped Yates town website. It would be great if you were able to come to our next town board workshop on Monday night, November 6th, 5:30 p.m., and to our Public Hearing at 6 p.m. that night to discuss our preliminary budget for 2024.
For the record, our proposed budget for next year estimates that the total amount to be raised by taxes is approximately $13,000 more than last year. This would be a 1.2% increase overall. This will amount to about 5 cents more per $1,000 of assessed value. So, if your home is assessed at $200,000, then your total town taxes will go up around $10 in 2024.
As always, you can give me a call if you have any questions about the town board’s goals for the next few years (716-946-2075).
The Air Force core values are integrity first, service before self, and excellence in all we do. John Riggi, Susan Hrovat and I have tried to live up to this high calling. If given the opportunity, we would be honored to continue to do our best.
Jim Simon
Yates Town Supervisor
