Dear Editor,
This is regarding the Village of Owego elections. I’m going to do something I don’t usually do in writing a letter about policy and good governance. I’m going to remind you that the people in the group I’m about to comment on are our neighbors and friends who serve the community in many selfless ways. They just should not be in charge of your village government or be making the important decisions with and for you. Here’ why.
The “Taxpayers First” Party and their predecessors have had control of the Village of Owego Board and its decisions for three years and the clerk treasurer’s office for two years. They vote in lockstep almost 100 percent of the time. They control all of the policy. Anything they don’t want doesn’t happen. Anything they do want is approved with their four out of seven votes.
For example, they approved and voted for the sewer billing structure of E.D.U. Now they run on a platform promising to fix a problem they created in the first place. By the way, speaking of their platform points, just what is this “Taxpayers First Team” at work at the Village Board? I thought that when you get elected you’re supposed to all work together on the same team, the Village of Owego team.
But the “Taxpayers First” does have an agenda. By pursuing the elimination of the Police Department for almost two years now and the formation of a fire district for nine months they have squandered two of our most valuable resources: time and human capital, the skills and participation of Owego’s residents. They have wasted time and energy needed for positive progress in the village like seeking and encouraging development on Route 434 near the coming housing project. Like aggressively pursuing every possible state and federal grant for any and every possible need. Like fostering a spirit of community participation instead of the divisive schemes that pit our residents against each other and discourage people from wanting anything to do with our local institutions or serving on them. We cannot afford to continue this waste of resources.
The “Taxpayers First” platform states they want the “voters to make final decisions on major issues.” But that is a ruse. Proper and good governance would bring to voters only options that have been thoroughly vetted, studied, discussed with many parties, all pros and cons considered, and consequences anticipated. Then any option presented to voters was the best possible and necessary. These police and fire matters they claim to want to bring to voters are poorly conceived and flawed plans disguised as tax savings with likely future increases instead.
They have spent $7,500 of taxpayer money to continue to promote their “survey” of policing options which is the same flawed survey previously with incorrect figures and claims intending to point voters to a flawed conclusion that the Sheriff’s Department can and will provide more and better police protection for less money. But hey, let’s let the voters decide on a bad plan with bad information with an agenda driven hoped for outcome.
Likewise the fire department and nine months of meetings and public hearings on a bad and not nearly thought out plan on eliminating the village fire department and forming a local fire district separate from village control with the likely tax increases that usually come with such a plan. Only a last second conflict of interest topped this costly and question filled bad plan from being sent to the voters by the “Taxpayers first Team”, without almost any information to make an informed decision.
Terrible process, terrible governance. We live in a wonderful village, a great place to raise our families with dedicated police, fire, EMS, public works, sewer, clerk, and justice staff employees and volunteers. This is done on as tight a budget as you can imagine.
“Taxpayers First” please keep volunteering along with the rest of us but stop trying to dismantle us piece by piece with no solid plan. Terrible Governance.
Sincerely,
Rusty Fuller
Owego, N.Y.
