Village residents: group petitioning to dissolve Brockport has hidden interests
William Matthias
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: News
| |
|
"The folks pursuing dissolution need to be looked at," said former trustee Carrie Maziarz. "They are made up of the same people as the Brockport Sweden Property Owners Association. They have an entirely different interest in dissolution than Brockport's single family [non-rental property] homeowners."
Village Mayor Connie Castaneda confirmed a personal relationship with a reputed member of the Tax Cutters, landlord Norman Giancursio. He owns more rental properties than any other landlord in the village, including the Roxbury.
According to an e-mail from Tax Cutter member Linda Borrayo, Giancursio's sister, various members created and currently comprise the Tax Cutters.
"Our group is very diverse and includes SUNY professors, professionals, blue-collar workers, young and old residents, and several business owners, including a few rental owners," she said.
"These answers were a collective effort by a group of volunteers," the e-mail noted. The group would not produce a list of its members for "concern about police and village government intimidation and retaliation."
New law allows voter-initiated dissolution
A new law effective March 21, 2010, the "New N.Y. Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act," enables voters to petition for a public vote on consolidating or dissolving their local government. The Brockport Tax Cutters have collected the required signatures, 10 percent of the electorate, for the village to enact a resolution calling for a referendum.
In accordance with the law, if the voters approve the referendum, the village's board of trustees and the Town of Sweden must design a dissolution plan. The plan would specify which village services the town would adopt and which services, if any, would be eliminated.
The Village of Brockport started off the fiscal year $500,000 in the hole. And its reserves are depleted. The board of trustees transferred $464,000 from its third party billing fund to its general fund, which has shrunk more than $700,000 since the end of the 2008 fiscal year.
A financial analysis by a village-hired consultant indicates that without cutting any services, an estimated 18 percent annual increase for the next five years might be necessary to balance the budget. Brockport Tax Cutter Dan Kuhn said that's why the group is petitioning for dissolution, to avoid an astronomical tax hike.
"Dissolution offers a great opportunity to cut the overhead that's involved," Kuhn said. "We are beyond the point where we need a separate government to manage village services. Our group is concerned with what's best for the voters and taxpayers of the village, who are worried about losing their homes."
Maziarz said this figure is inflated.
"I highly doubt taxes would go up 18 percent," she said. "It's a dream figure to fix everything in one shot."
Castaneda said an 18 percent annual tax increase wouldn't even replenish the village's reserves. She also commented on her relationship with Giancursio, what residents have called a "conflict of interest."
"My personal relationships are personal, but yes, I do have a relationship with him," she said. "It is unfortunate that my opponents want to divert attention from the real issues.
"The majority of the village government has gotten us in this situation and instead of coming up with a scapegoat, they should take responsibility for their own actions."
Several residents, including Maziarz, said the Tax Cutters interests include the elimination of the Brockport Police Department, and for the landlords involved, less governmental on oversight on rental properties.
"In my opinion, the group is made up of same landlords who have been trying to abolish the police department for years and have been working to control the village government by getting themselves elected to the board," Main Street resident Carol Hannan said.
Brockport's Historic Preservation Board chair, Bill Andrews, said some landlords have "the reputation of being unwilling to abide by the Village Zoning Ordinance." He also noted legal proceedings against some landlords (see sidebar) and problems that have occurred in student rental properties.
"Student housing has frequently been the sites of disorderly behavior leading to complaints resulting in enforcement by the police of village ordinance," Andrews said. "Some landlords may want those ordinances rescinded and that law enforcement ended and therefore, would like to see the zoning board and the police department abolished."
Four of the five residents Kuhn said created the Brockport Tax Cutters are landlords. This includes himself, Rhett King, Linda Borrayo and Linda's husband, Francisco Borrayo. Giancursio is "not a main member, but is involved," Kuhn said. All of the landlords Kuhn mentioned, except himself, own student housing properties.
None of the landlords in question would agree to an in-person interview, save Kuhn. Linda Borrayo agreed to the e-mail interview, with answers reflecting the groups' opinion.
The Tax Cutters said dissolution is the only way to rectify the village's deficit and the burden village taxpayers bear:
"We believe dissolution of the inefficient and costly layer of village government is the only option that will allow Brockport residents to afford their homes. If the village is dissolved, village taxes will be reduced due to the duplication of [town and village] services."
Government consolidation called into question
The Village of Brockport's taxes are the second highest of any municipality in Monroe County. The village tax rate is $10.58 per $1,000 of assessed property, according to Brockport's Web site. Village residents pay an additional $2.29 per $1,000 for town taxes. Town residents outside of the village pay about $4.45 per $1,000 of assessed property, Linda Borrayo said.
Dissolution, however, will not necessarily lower the taxes village residents currently pay.
"The taxes will not go away but most likely they would be reduced," Castaneda said.
Maziarz said this is not the case.
"If the village is dissolved, there is going to be a deferring of costs spread amongst village residents," Maziarz said, "unless the town wants to absorb our debt, which it probably won't want to do."
Following village dissolution, the town could create special districts with taxes specific to each district. These include but are not limited to a fire, library and debt district. The special districts would have elected and/or appointed officials. So, village residents could still be paying higher taxes than town residents living outside the village. Additionally, they could still have layers of government separating them from the town's government.
"The idea of consolidation defies logic," Maziarz said. "It does not make sense to eliminate layers of government only to create new ones."
New York state law forbids a town to provide its residents with fire protection, so dissolution would result in a fire district able to levy its own taxes. And, dissolution can be a costly endeavor.
Wade Beltramo, General Counsel of the New York State Conference of Mayors (NMYCOM), recently delivered a presentation at a special form on the topic of consolidation/dissolution. He said dissolution studies carried out by village-hired consultants, who make recommendations to the village and town prior to the designing of a dissolution plan, are not worth the cost. The last 17 dissolution studies conducted in New York state total $900,000, or $52,941 per study, according to Beltramo's report.
Castaneda said she is not taking a political or personal position on the dissolution yet.
"We need to research this issue so we can find out what is in the best interest of the residents," she said.
In regards to the possible elimination of the police department, Castaneda said, "I feel the community has a right to decide if this is a service they wish to continue to support.
"While I do not have support of the majority of the board, the right thing to do is to put it up for a referendum and let the tax payers decide if this is a service they want or not."
The dissolution plan would dictate whether the Brockport Police Department remains. This is after the voters approve or disprove of the referendum. It would take another petition with 25 percent of the electorate's voters to reverse the dissolution.
What's at stake: police service and village code
Brockport Police Chief Daniel Varrenti said if the village is dissolved, the police department would be abolished, inevitably.
"If successful, the dissolution would eliminate the Brockport Police Department," he said. "All services would then be provided by the Town of Sweden and there is no law or provision that could compel the town to provide police protection.
"To eliminate a police department where 8,000 college students attend school and another 8,000 people live year round, in an area of about two by two square miles, is unconscionable."
According to an email from Varrenti, the Brockport Police Department responded to 15,490 calls for service in 2009. If the Brockport Police Department is eliminated, the Monroe County Sheriff's Office would police the village.
Nick Delaney, Brockport Student Government off-campus representative, said though he would "hate to see the police department go," he could understand if it had to.
"Considering the way the economy is, especially in small-town rural parts of the state, I can see why there may be a need for a larger township," he said. "The question becomes whether or not the Monroe County Sheriff's Office could be as efficient as the Brockport Police in responding to calls. Considering the proximity of the office to the village, it's hard to imagine it could."
The cost of the Brockport Police Department's services was just under two million for the 2008-09 fiscal year. Town of Sweden Assessor Tony Eaffaldono said about 67 percent of the properties in Brockport are tax exempt (including churches and schools). The owners of the other 33 percent of taxable properties must pay for all of the village services, including the police department.
Some landlords pay a significant share of the village services due to the large number of properties they own.
Castaneda said if the village dissolved, landlords would have to adhere to code that presently exists.
"The town code and the village code are exactly the same," Castaneda said. "The town has a full-time code enforcer and fire marshall. There would be no less oversight on the properties and the same code would apply."
Former village trustee David Wagenhauser said the town and village code are not the same and their "are significant differences between the town zoning ordinance and the village zoning ordinance."
Scott Zarnstorff, Brockport code enforcement officer, declined to comment or confirm any differences between the two codes. There are specific "press policy procedures" and the board of trustees would have to approve of him answering any questions, he said.
The town code enforcer was unavailable for comment.
Brockport resident, merchant and former mayor Josephine Matela, said although the same code could technically apply, dissolution is in the best interest of the landlords.
"A lot of village landlords are fabulous people who take care of students as if they were their own children," she said. "Unfortunately, there are more than a few with a different agenda.
"This whole dissolution is just an excuse, a cover-up - just a way for this special interest group to continue to take advantage of this whole situation."
Be the first to comment on this story