Dear Editor,
The Town of Owego Fire District Commissioners’ decision to build a new fire station is so outrageous, I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.
According to published reports in the Press & Sun Bulletin, the new 7,000 square foot (four truck bay) fire station will cost $1.1 million to build; the town fire district $135,000 annual contract with the village ends July 31; and the Town of Owego residents within the fire district will see a 22 percent increase in their tax rate.
We are being told the $135,000 in contract savings will pay for the new station in the long term. Really? Then why the need for a 22 percent increase in the 2015 tax rate? Also, won’t the services the village provided under contract soon become a future expense to the township (i.e., utilities, fuel, equipment maintenance and repair, etc.)?
We are told the town fire district will relocate two fire trucks from existing stations to the new station. Really? How long do you think it will be before we will be paying for new fire trucks to fill the empty truck bays?
Mayor Millar assures village taxpayers they won’t see a financial impact from the canceled contract. Really? Is the Village of Owego Fire Department prepared to cut their annual budget by the operating expenses incurred in providing fire truck services to the township?
We have a declining township population and tax base but we continue to spend, spend, spend – at all levels of government. What is so unconscionable is the Town of Owego Fire Department’s unilateral decision to build a new $1.1 million fire house without benefit of voter approval.
Respectfully,
Dieter G. Dauber
Owego. N.Y.
