Brockport Mayor Margaret Blackman says she and other Village Board members are looking forward to getting back to work now that voters have rejected a proposition that would have dissolved the village government.
“We were optimistic that people would want to keep their village,” the mayor said Tuesday evening, May 24, after results were announced that the dissolution proposition had been voted down 817 to 632.
She said she is also optimistic about the future of the village. “We need to better educate people about the budget,” Mayor Blackman explained, and noted the village will continue to pursue outside sources of revenue as a way to keep taxes in check.
The rejection of government dissolution for the second time since 2010 means that services like community policing and code enforcement are important to residents, the Mayor said.
Rhett King headed a group of residents who petitioned for the dissolution vote and organized a not-for-profit group called NY Villagers for Efficient Government, which called for unification between the village and Town of Sweden to lower the tax burden.
He said he was excited to bring the issue to the voters, but was disappointed with the results.
“Unlike what’s been said, that this is a group of landlords who have brought this thing, six hundred is not an insignificant number,” King observed of the “yes” votes. “I am grateful and hopeful the village government will be more responsible to the needs of the people. People had been asking for the vote for a long time.”
The village tax levy has risen 25 percent since 2010, he noted. “Behavior is believable, not words,” King said. He thanked those who voted “yes” for, “Coming out and having the courage to vote.”
Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti approached King following the announcement of the vote results and offered to work together by traveling to Albany to rally for tax relief.
A college town like Brockport needs a community police force, the chief noted, but with two-thirds of the village taken up by the SUNY campus – which is tax exempt, “We need some relief,” the Chief said.
He called the state law regulating the dissolution process, “ridiculous… the law does nothing but divide the village. It’s just a shame.”
Chief Varrenti said he is concerned that more than 600 people voted to dissolve village government. “I want everybody to want this village,” he said.
Two dissolution votes over the past six years have impacted recruitment for the Brockport Village Police Department, Chief Varrenti explained. He said the village spends money to train new officers and then struggles to retain them.
The repeated threat of dissolution has an “exorbitant” cost for those on both sides of the issue, as well as the Police Department, Chief Varrenti said, as officers are lured to other departments offering better pay and greater security.
“If you could get more money, work less hours and not have to put up with the fear of (municipal government) being dissolved, what would you do?” he questioned.
Chief Varrenti said he understands that there are those in the village who don’t want a community police force and who struggle to pay taxes.
“I didn’t come to run the police department … I didn’t come to run for election … I came to serve everybody in this village,” he said.
If taxes are the issue, Chief Varrenti noted, he is willing to work with community members and go to Albany to seek relief.
