Dear Editor,
In last week’s Pennysaver there were two letters – one from Trustee Morris and one from Rusty Fuller. First let me say that both of these people are using the police department and the fire department as a political football.
Trustee Morris stated that since May, both Trustee Hartman and Trustee Phelps voted eight times against hiring police officers but did not say why. Could it be because they were not qualified or up to standards? Or better yet could it be that a previous board, with Rebuild Owego Party members, voted for, hired, and paid full wages for a first time police officer, paid his academy fee, and then he never worked one day for the village?
Trustee Morris says in her endorsement of Gosart that she was instrumental in organizing the “I want my OPD” after Trustee May’s first attack against the OPD. I had the understanding that Trustee May was the Police Safety Commissioner and spent his own money on a survey to find out what the taxpayers of Owego wanted. This survey wasn’t to attack the OPD. It was stopped so no one knows what the results would have been.
Mr. Fuller stated that $7,500 was spent on another survey. That is wrong, it wasn’t spent because two village residents filed a lawsuit and had it stopped.
Mr. Fuller stated that the Taxpayers First Party and their predecessors have had control of the board for three years. This is not true; it’s been one year. The clerk treasurer has been in office for five years.
The whole board approved the E.D.U.; the fire department was not the idea of the Taxpayers First Party. It was my understanding it was the idea of the fire board, and was presented to the village board by fire commissioner and Trustee Hartman. A fire district doesn’t mean eliminating the fire department, it would still be there but not under village control and it would not be a political football anymore and would be paid for by a bigger tax base.
Trustee Morris stated that the Rebuild Owego Party revived a grant for the cemetery in the amount of $600,000; the grant was for $300,000 with the village putting in $300,000 to match it.
Trustee Morris also stated that they are rebuilding Owego from the flood and not going into debt. How are they rebuilding, by planting trees and putting more flower boxes downtown? Does “not getting into debt” mean that the village had over $3 million to pay for the sewer upgrade and $300,000 for a matching grant?
I think it is time for a board that puts the taxpayers first; voting no does not mean that that person is not thinking of the village taxpayers.
Please get out and vote!
Sincerely.
Jim Legursky
Owego, N.Y.
