I will vote no on Tuesday

Dear Editor,

I will be voting against the two referendums on Aug. 1 and I will explain why. On Proposition 1, the referendum on the justice court: 1) The figures used by the Village to calculate savings show $20,000 less in revenue than the NYS Comptroller Generals’ reports; 2) Assessment forms recommended by the “NYS Justice Court Manual” – a) Analysis of the Financial Impact of Dissolving a Village Court, b) Estimate of Cost Savings if Village Court is Dissolved and c) Estimate of Impact on Local Revenue if Village Court is Dissolved (pages 91-96) were not used to provide an objective assessment of the financial impact of closing a court;  3) a  Freedom of Information request to the village asking to see an application for a court consolidation grant and a letter of approval by NYS for a court consolidation grant of $100,000 did not result in seeing an application or an approval letter for a court consolidation grant for $100,000 as claimed by village officials and 4) there is no free lunch; the costs to run the extra cases in town court will simply be added to town taxes that village residents pay.           

Regarding Proposition 2 about making the treasurer appointed, I want to point out that village boards were dominated over the past five years by the party of the incumbent board and their predecessors and they consistently blocked hiring a full-time bookkeeper since the last full-time bookkeeper resigned in November 2011. The lack of a full- time bookkeeper had a serious negative effect on the village and the village treasurer’s ability to provide needed figures and audits to NYS. It was like asking the treasurer to do the job with one arm tied behind his back and it led to the need to hire a certified public accountant at some expense to do bookkeeping. Hiring a full-time bookkeeper in 2012 would have avoided that expense and allowed the village treasurer to provide the needed documents to the NYS Comptroller’s Office in a timely fashion.

In the recent past, the current board has eviscerated the police department, suggested that Central Fire Station could be for sale and discussed demolition of the building at 90 Temple St. that houses the police department and village court to make a parking lot. If the combination of these initiatives is intended to pave the way for the dissolution of the village, the mayor and board could simply say that and start a financial analysis of the costs and benefits of dissolution.

In closing, I urge all voters to vote no on these two propositions down on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m. at Central Fire Station on North Avenue.

Sincerely,

Kevin Millar

Owego, N.Y.