On June 16, Brockport will have a village election. There are important decisions to make. Residents will decide the fate of the village court.
I was a strong proponent of the village court. As a trustee, I voted to establish it. At that time, in my opinion, based on observations and knowledge, the Sweden court was not serving our needs or interests well. Our relationship with Sweden was not the best. We expected the village court to be financially independent, based on our careful research.
Fast forward 10 years. Elections have changed both Sweden and Brockport. The Sweden supervisor and our mayor meet for coffee together. Things have changed. An Ad Hoc Committee of volunteers researched the village court. They weren’t chosen because they had preconceived opinions about the court. What they found was that our court had been losing large amounts of money for years prior to this administration and is projected to lose almost $35,000 this year, just as it did last year. Taxpayers have been paying these losses, and this is expected to be a subsidy without end.
Our justices have presented arguments for keeping their court. I would do the same in their positions. They’re fighting to keep their jobs, but the service they provide is now redundant and costly. Any serious attempt to trim the village budget has to start somewhere. As I considered my choice, I put aside sentimental reasons and considered the financial facts. I believe if we are serious about reducing our village tax burden, eliminating a duplicate, insolvent service is the place to start.
If you vote to keep the village court, paying the court’s deficit will almost certainly continue. If you vote to transfer court operations to the Town of Sweden, we’ll pay for that service, yes, but that’s expected to be much less of a cost. I’m not happy to see our court end, but to reduce our tax burden, many hard choices need to be made. The Board of Trustees has given you an important choice. I think, regretfully, that the village court should end, but my greater concern is that there will be a small voter turnout, and this decision will be made by very few voters. Please take the opportunity to participate in an important decision and vote on June 16. Thank you.
Carol Lee Hannan
Brockport
