Town residents first – village residents second

Dear Editor,

Do the Village of Owego residents realize they are Town of Owego residents first and village residents second? If the village did not exist, every village resident still remains a town resident and is entitled to state mandated services. That is why you receive a town tax bill every January. If the village dissolved the village court, the town is obligated to provide court services to all town and village residents; as is the county to the state court system.

Law enforcement officers and departments, whether it is a state trooper, county sheriff or village officer, are received in the same manner into both court systems and the mandates to these agents and the court officers are the same. There are not three separate sets of rules or requirements given to the legal enforcement agent or the courts, which hear the charges and provide for litigation.

Correct when stated, village or towns are not in “business” to make a profit. They are there to provide services, but both governments, town and village, are in the fiduciary business of using tax dollars smartly when providing those services. When the cost of a provided service can be consolidated as a shared service for a savings or if one is so costly as to require an annual tax increase to stay fiscally operational, those who are elected are obligated to put this forth to the taxpayers. 

When it comes to the point when the majority of all derived court revenue becomes state revenue and sent to Albany, leaving no revenue to aid in the support of the physical and personnel costs of providing a separate court other than that raised by village tax revenue, it is in the best interest to the taxpayer to revisit those areas of government that can be eliminated or consolidated with no loss of a local service. Too many of the village taxpayers have to constantly re-balance their checkbooks in order to pay their tax bills as it is. Sending the taxpayer an increased tax bill in June to pay for a duplication of a service paid for in a January tax bill is a non-starter as to where to cut overhead and to hold the line. 

There are a few villages within towns in our county, which could better serve their village taxpayers if they took the same direction as is the Village of Owego trustees; dissolve the village court with the default being the town court. The Owego Village taxpayer paying three tax bills – village, town / county and school taxes, should be thankful that someone is looking out to hold the line by not raising village taxes for a service which is allowed but not mandated by the state. To have two local courts co-exist is fiscally irresponsible to the taxpayer at today’s current cost of doing business in the “same ole way”. 

Even if the town needed to do an adjustment on the town tax bill to cover the additional expenses (outside of the town adjustment), the cost would be minuscule to the increase, which would be required to continue to raise village tax revenue to cover current and future expenses; funds that could be put to better use in the village for infrastructure departments and policing. 

That’s good business.

Sincerely,

Florence Alpert

Candor, N.Y.