batavia

Often you hear people talk about how government should be run like a business, and it is a nice metaphor for reminding people that cost controls are important, and the books should be balanced, but the phrase masks a very important reality: Government is not a business.

In our talks with people around town about our belief in an open, transparent government, we are sometimes confronted with the idea that government should be run like a business.

Specifically, the City of Batavia should have only one spokes person, and that person is City Manager Jason Molino.

When we spoke to the City Council on this subject a couple of weeks ago, that was exactly the argument Councilman Bill Cox used in dismissing our request for more open access to the local government.

Earlier this week, when we did a post on this topic, John Roach left the following comment:

Jason is right not letting city employees speak with you or the other news media. He is dead right on that. There can be only one spokesman for an organization and all public agencies have that policy. In fact, most private companies have the same policy: one spokesman.

Both Philip Anselmo and I responded about how neither of us, in all of our journalistic experience, have ever dealt with a city government that prohibited employees from talking to the media.

It's just not normal.

But here's where the argument that government is like a business really breaks down:

A government can do things a business can't. A government can impose taxes; a government takes those taxes and decides how to spend those dollars in ways that can have profound impacts on citizens' lives; a government employs people who carry guns and can lock up citizens for reasons both great and small; a government can tell you where and how to hang a sign, what color to paint your house, what repairs must be made to your front porch, what new structures you can erect and where you can do it and what materials can be used; a government is responsible for running facilities -- such as parks -- for the public benefit.

In other words, a government has great power over, awesome responsibility for, and substantial accountability to every person within its jurisdiction.

Businesses, on the other hand, rely on competitive advantages and trade secrets to maintain profitability and ensure it can maintain and grow jobs for the people of a community. Without successful businesses, there would be no taxes to collect. That's why the freedom of information laws always enjoin government agencies to protect trade secrets when exposed during the transaction of business between a company and  a government agency. 

Can businesses be abusive? Sure, but there are also laws that regulate businesses (and though often changing or unevenly enforced for good or ill, they do exist), anti-trust laws to prevent any one business from becoming too powerful, and the free market to check and diminish a business's power.

So there really is no comparison between a government's obligation be open and transparent and a private (or even publicly held) company's right to keep some secrets.

In a well run government, free of malfeasance and derelictions, there should be no reason for any muzzles on any staff member, from the janitor on up to every department head.

We've also heard the argument -- "well, if you want to know something, just FOIL it."

FOIL stands for Freedom of Information Law (at the Federal level it's known as the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA). Go read the opening section of FOIL. It's a beautiful thing. It makes our case for us.

The fact is, if a government agency was operating under the principles of FOIL, living within the spirit of the legislation instead insisting on following the letter of the law, there would never, ever be any reason for a private citizen or media representative to EVER file a formal FOIL request.

A truly open government would just hand over documents with a simple verbal request.

Open governments have nothing to hide and no secrets to keep except those specifically and explicitly enjoined to it by state or federal law.

We shouldn't even need legislation such as FOIL to find out what our government is up to, but the Legislature found it necessary to stop abuses by overzealous government administrators.

But there are three primary problems with FOIL.

• A government agency has five days to respond to a FOIL request, and agencies that wish to delay release of information will take full advantage of this provision;
• FOIL requests must be written in such a way as to be very specific about the records reqeuested -- write the request too broad, and a government agency can use the lack of specificity as an excuse not to include some documents; write it too narrowly and you might miss the most important documents;
• FOIL doesn't cover human intelligence -- not everything you might want to find out about how your government is working is contained within a specific document. Some of it is only contained in the minds of the people who know what is going on. There is simply no substitute for talking with a person and asking questions.

With these liabilities, it is improper for a government agency to hide behind FOIL as a means of controlling the flow of information.

We don't think we're asking for much: We're just asking that the City of Batavia be run in an open, transparent manner so that taxpayers are well served. Until that happens, how can we trust that power isn't being abused and tax dollars are being well spent?

Today's opinion page in the Daily News features a letter to the editor on the topic of the city of Batavia plumbing inspector, who recently had her full-time position cut by the city to part-time and her hours dropped one half-hour below the threshold to qualify for health insurance.

This story was first reported in a great article by Joanne Beck a few weeks back.

In the letter today, authored by Beth Allen and Carol Grasso, the argument is made that Toal was treated unfairly by the city. In fact, the authors put it much more emphatically, when they write: "Someone very near and dear to the heart of this community is being treated with gross injustice." Here's some more:

Her salary was cut in half just two months before she would acheive 20 years of dedication and service to this community. Who made the decision to cut $25,000 at the expense of our public health in the first place? Barb spent her entire life in this county and we can't think of anyone else we know who cares more deeply for it. Then to top things off, she is cut to work only 19 1/2 hours a week instead of the 20 hours a week she would need to have her health insurance and other benefits covered.

Our county has a financial deficit to deal with, but what about the people who live here and make it what it is? Is this how our officials plan on rewarding all of its workers from now on?! Are we teaching our children that dedicating a lifetime of service and professional ability is to be rewarded in this fashion? Who the heck will want to stay in a community like that!!

It's obvious that Allen and Grasso feel very strongly about this. One needn't even consider the doubled-up exclamation points and the flourish of rhetorical questions to understand that. Yet there is much more to be gleaned from this letter than a simple and emphatic request for reinstatement. This letter and the circumstances that led to its being drafted make for a great time to have the conversation of how cities—especially small cities—ought to be run.

How much should municipalities be run like corporations? Because really, if we're to be honest with ourselves, this move of cutting Toal to half time just before she would qualify for pension and edging her hours just right so that the city doesn't have to pay for health insurance—that's a corporate tactic. It saves money. But at the same time, you better believe it carries the message: the individual is not important here. All that is done is done in the name of the greater good. This brings us to the seeming paradox that we, the people of Batavia—or whatever other community, however that community is defined—are the greater good. Yet, at the very same time, we, the people of Batavia, are the Barbara Toals of the community. So which do we favor? Which do we identify with? Because situations such as this, as that which is presented in this letter, make it clear that we have to choose a side.

Beth Allen and Carol Grasso make it quite clear which side they have chosen. At the end of their letter, they list the names, e-mails (where available), addresses and telephone numbers for the city leaders. So, will you send a letter?

In other new, if you're wondering what the municipal bosses and boards are doing in Albion, Shelby, Warsaw and Le Roy, today's Daily News is your kind of newspaper.

Out in Albion, that Village Board has decided to pursue a legal battle to "oust" Ron Vendetti, the village's current code enforcement officer. Vendetti has been accused of "rudeness with residents" and "incompetence on the job."

More such Albion news, along with what went on at the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors meeting, can be found inside the paper. Also, the town of Le Roy will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2009 budget tonight at 7:00pm at the town hall.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

We here at The Batavian heard from multiple sources over the past few days that the St Nicholas Social Club of Batavia had been closed down. We spoke this morning with Tim Walsh, a member who was on site at the Swan Street social club. Walsh is the current club manager.

When asked if the club was closed, Walsh replied: "No, not at all."

"It's mostly been rumors from disgruntled employees who were let go," said Walsh of all the talk that the club was shut down. The family that had been in charge of the place for the past ten to twenty years or so had been let go, he said. It's likely that they were responsible for spreading the rumors. Walsh figured it was a board decision to let them go. "It was time for a change."

St Nick's, as it's more commonly known, has been around since at least the 1950s, said Walsh. It's a membership-only Italian social club, in his description.

"We have 1,100 members," said Walsh. "We're trying to get most of them to come in and patronize the place. It's tough times right now."

"Friday nights we knock 'em dead here," he added. "We're open for lunch Monday through Friday, and for dinner on Wednesday or Friday. Lunch and dinner is not restricted to members. Friday nights are our busiest night each week."

Only members and their friends, however, can drink alcohol at the club because of state regulations. St Nick's also has a karaoke night once a month and hosts "a lot of benefits," he said.

"This is the best club in town," said Walsh. "Just about everyone in town knows we're here."

Last night, CBS News reported (watch the video above) that contrary to promises from Congress, that $700 billion bailout for the nation's biggest banks, the bailout intended to help banks get toxic loans off their books and to kick-start new borrowing and stimulate the economy -- well, nobody really knows how the banks are using the money.

Congress, in its rush to ram this legislation through, didn't require a stitch of regulatory oversight.  And the banks obstinately told CBS: "We don't have to tell you what we're doing with that money."

Meanwhile, it's been reported elsewhere -- as CBS refers to the reports -- that some of the banks are using taxpayer money to go on buying sprees, acquiring smaller banks and making themselves bigger.

That isn't what Congress promised us would happen with our money.

Meanwhile, one of our own businesses -- Pontillo's Pizzeria -- is clearly having its own financial struggles.  The venerable Main Street eatery is more than $112,000 behind in taxes. The family is involved in a messy lawsuit. It's currently shut down, reportedly for renovations, but the signs are clearly troubling.

We don't see Henry Paulson rushing to Batavia to help out John, Paul and Sam, but his fat-cat buddies on Wall Street are doing just fine.

The situation with Pontillo's is important, and as much as some people might like to see the news of the restaurant's struggles swept under the rug, it isn't going to help Pontillo's or the community to hide from these issues.

What's going on with Pontillo's has a ripple effect throughout Genesee County -- the restaurant employed local people who spent some portion of their revenue locally, and paid rent to local landlords, and the restaurant did business in some degree with local suppliers, and all of those people are affected, too.

Clearly, the situation is heartbreaking for all the people who grew up with Pontillo's, either as former employees or loyal customers.

Some people do what to know what's going on not merely for curiosity's sake, but because they care. This situation effects more than just one family. It effects the entire community.

Which brings us back to the bailout. 

Where is the bailout for Pontillo's?  Congress talked a lot about how what happens on Wall Street effects Main Street. So far, we're not seeing the connection.

Some of these banks that received cash from Congress have branches in Genesee County. Wouldn't it be appropriate for one of those branch managers to step forward and ask the Pontillos how they can help?

We're not holding our breath, but we are wishing the Pontillos well. We do want to see them pull out of this. When Pontillo's reopens, it should be a big community event.

From the Batavia Business Improvement District:

This is a contest for children, twelve years and younger, to make a holiday ornament and enter it into this contest. The ornaments will be displayed on a Christmas tree in the Batavia City Centre. The winners will be announced on Friday, December 5th. Winners will be announced at Christmas in the City, at 6:45pm, on the Main Stage in Batavia City Centre.

The Ornament Committee is looking to have prizes to give out to the various children whose ornament(s) win in the different categories.

If you are interested in donating a prize to this contest please contact Loretta Delpriore at 344-1283 by Wednesday, November 19th or fax the form below to: 815-4310. She will provide you with contest forms and other information.

Click here to download the donation form.

Last week, The Batavian reported that Pontillo's Pizzeria owed in excess of $112,000 in state taxes. That report came on the heels of an article in the Daily News in which Sam Pontillo claimed that he closed the restaurant in order to make renovations and officially purchase the property. A second article appeared in the Daily a couple days after our post that further confounded an already ambiguous story. Since then, more information has become available that may help us to ask some better questions in the hopes of getting some better answers.

On October 31, a civil suit was filed in Genesee County in which all three Pontillo brothers were named. That suit was brought by Buffalo attorneys Amigone, Sanchez, Mattrey & Marshall LLP on behalf of the plaintiff: John Pontillo. Listed as defendants in that case are: Sam, Paul and Salvatore Pontillo. No other details of the case were available at the Office of the Genesee County Clerk, and we have so far been unable to contact any of the brothers. We had left messages for Sam Pontillo last week that were never returned.

A week later, on November 7, a mechanic's lien was filed with the county by Roy H. Turnbull Inc. againt the estate of Elizabeth Pontillo and Pontillo's Batavia Pizzeria Inc. in the amount of $1,181.29. No specifics were listed in the record.

Those are the most recent facts. A search earlier today revealed no new filings with the county. Let us now take a moment to review the news as it was reported in the Daily. We feel that there are some contradictions and ambiguities that may help to shed some light on the situation.

From the first article, which appeared on November 4:

(Sam) Pontillo was advised that it would be better to just close the shop down and then re-open under new ownership. He regrets that he had to cancel a pre-election night party ... But he had no choice, Pontillo said. He was told that renovations were to happen now.

Firstly, who "advised" Sam Pontillo to close and "told" him that renovations had to "happen now"? In the same article, Beck writes that: "Sam has been on site running the Batavia and Le Roy operations the last several years." So if he's running the place, who is telling him to close it? Secondly, what are these renovations that they cannot be postponed even a single day so that the restaurant could cater a local party?

What's most confusing, however, is that in this first article, Sam Pontillo claims responsibility for both operations, in Le Roy and in Batavia. He would have to be running the place in order to make the decision to close it down, right? But in the article that appeared in the Daily on November 7—after The Batavian broke the news that the Batavia restaurant owed some $112,000 in unpaid taxes to the state—Sam Pontillo is quoted as saying: "I was locked out of the whole operation. John and Paul worked there (in Batavia). John was operations manager." Doesn't that contradict the claim in the previous article that Sam has been running the place for "years"?

Joanne Beck writes:

It was only after (Sam Pontillo) started the paperwork to buy the city property that Sam Pontillo became fully aware of the tax situation, he said. He doesn't dispute that tax warrants have been filed by the state Finance Department and Genesee County Clerk's office against the family business, which includes Pontillo's Batavia Pizzeria, Inc. and Sam's Tomato Pies, Inc.

But he doesn't claim them as his, either. The business is still owned by his mother and was not run by Sam, he said.

What!? Does Sam Pontillo run the business or not? What does it mean to be "fully aware"? Could he have been "partially" aware? What would that have signified? How can Sam not claim the tax warrants filed against Sam's Tomato Pies?

It is also reported in the most recent Daily News article that: "Genesee County records did not show any outstanding tax warrants on the Le Roy Pontillo's." That's true. As Sam Pontillo himself says of the Le Roy location: "I don't owe one cent for this place."

But Pontillo's Le Roy Pizzeria Inc. has been named in a civil suit filed by the Workers' Compensation Board of the State of New York that was filed on October 20. The Board also filed a money judgement in the amount of $1,250 against the Le Roy operation. As for any outstanding tax warrants, there are none. Pontillo's Le Roy Pizzeria Inc. was, however, served with a tax warrant by the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance in the amount of $700.63 in November, 2007. That was paid.

All in all, there are more questions than answers at this point, and I have yet to see a single car parked at the Batavia Pontillo's, which is supposed to be undergoing renovations right now. I guess we ought to take Sam Pontillo at his word when he says: "The remodeling won't be an obvious change that patrons will notice."

Efforts by the Mancuso Business Development Group to redevelop aging industrial plants and turn them into business centers for new and fledgling firms is featured in a piece in the D&C this morning.

Mancuso projects include the High Falls facility in Rochester, a 475,000-square-foot business center in Lockport, and another large development center in Geneva, as well as the Harvester Center in Batavia.

For the four local business incubators, Mancuso Development acts as the managing agent, collecting rent and paying the bills, and as leasing agent. The firm also oversees building rehabilitation work at the Lockport and Geneva sites, B. Thomas Mancuso said.

The company particularly focuses on landing small-business tenants of fewer than 10 workers, Mancuso said. And even in the current economic contraction going on nationally, he said, there is constantly demand for affordable space for businesses of that size.

Notre Dame and Batavia High alums will be getting together to play some basketball and raise money for a good cause on Saturday, November 29 at Notre Dame.

The Hometown Hoops for Hope game will feature Batavia and Notre Dame grads battling each other on the court.

The game is going to be held to raise money for the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, which is set up in honor of Michael Napoleone, who passed away from Burkitt's Lymphoma/Leukemia.

Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. and admission is just $2 at the door.

On a few instances this morning and afternoon, I looked out the window of our Main Street office and spied an "Oversize Load" getting hauled through the city, heading east on Route 5. About an hour ago, I was in my car and spotted another such load. This time, I chased the sucker down, whipped out my camera and got a photo—and please forgive the quality: it was taken from inside my car while I was driving, er, stopped at a traffic light.

Now why would anybody take a photograph of some big... uhh, something... traveling down the street on the back of a hundred-foot flatbed? Well, mostly because I couldn't for the life of me guess what that something was. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm often intrigued by the unknown, especially when it's that large and in my face and unabashedly downtown.

Here's a shot:

This was taken near the intersection of Route 5 and Route 33 as the object in question was headed east toward the town of Stafford. What do you think it is? It looked like it could have been some part of a high-tech flying machine. Or maybe some billionaire mad scientist is constructing an underground lair.

From the Batavia Muckdogs:

Today, Red Wings Management, LLC announced that Travis Sick and Casey Freeman will accept new positions as general managers of the NY-Penn League champion Batavia Muckdogs’ front office.  Mr. Sick and Mr. Freeman were both instrumental in running the operation throughout the 2008 season.

Freeman, 31, joined the Muckdogs in May as the Director of Food and Beverage.  In that capacity, he was responsible for the significant upgrade to the food service operation at Dwyer Stadium.  Freeman’s background is in food and facility management.  He studied Hotel Resort Management at Finger Lakes Community College and earned a B.S. in Sport Studies at St. John Fisher College.  He performed an internship with the Red Wings organization in 2003.  Freeman will become the General Manager of Stadium Operations, effective November 11th.

Sick, 23, spent the 2008 season as Director of Ticket Operations for the Muckdogs, after joining the team in April.  Travis was born in Wayland, New York and attended Wayland-Cohocton Central School. He graduated from St. John Fisher College with a B.S. in both Sport Management and Business Management.  Travis was an intern with the Rochester Red Wings organization in 2007, working in the Group Sales and Promotions departments. He will become the General Manager of Baseball Operations November 11th.

In their new capacities, both gentlemen will sell group tickets and advertising, with Sick’s additional focus being on marketing, public relations and baseball matters , and Freeman’s on concessions, merchandise, website and stadium management.

“I am excited about the opportunity that we’ve been given,” said Travis Sick.  “We’re both very eager to get out there and start doing the job we know we can do for this franchise.  We’ve spent a season getting to know Batavia and its people, and I am confident we will do a job that will make the community proud.   This is a great time to be with an organization - coming off a championship season.  I can’t imagine it being any better.”

Casey Freeman added “We’ve learned a lot this past year, and will continue to learn.  But this is a job that we are both well prepared for and looking forward to.  We understand that there will be challenges in turning this into a high functioning franchise, but we like the enthusiasm we see in this town. I just returned from a New York Penn League meeting, and my goal is to bring this franchise up to the level of some of the other successful franchises in our league.  The other teams are very supportive of our efforts and they promise they will do all they can to share insight into their success. With that and the support of the Red Wings, we certainly have a great start.”

“We are very pleased to be able to retain these two fine young baseball executives within our organization”, stated Naomi Silver, Chairman of the Board of Red Wings Management and the Rochester Red Wings, its parent company.  “They did an outstanding job for us this past season and we are confident that they will be effective in their respective areas of responsibility.  These are two individuals who have a good working knowledge of how a baseball organization should run, and they each have a genuine interest in providing the fans and sponsors of Muckdogs baseball with a quality experience.  They will do what is necessary to grow this franchise.”

Both men will continue to work closely with Red Wings’ General Manager, Dan Mason.  “I see real talent in these two gentlemen.  They both know that it takes a lot of heart and a lot of hard work to make an organization a success.  They have skills and a work ethic that is critical to our line of work, and they love their jobs.  I think they both have very bright futures, and I am very pleased to be able to keep them both on our staff”, said Mason.

The Muckdogs front office will be launching a significant sales initiative this month in anticipation of a very positive public response following the capture of the New York Penn League Championship.  Mr. Mason stated “An organization can wait years for the kind of success we had on the field in our first year running this team.  The fan response has been really great.  It is an exciting time in this franchise’s history, and that of this community.  To have gone from the team almost disappearing to being the best in the League is incredible. Experience tells us that the year following a championship is always a big year and Travis and Casey are ready for that job.”

You can now count the Daily News among those of us trying to get information from officials at Victorian Manor, where construction ground to a halt earlier this year amid rumors that the Main Street senior living complex would soon close down altogether. Any attempt to find out what was going on has been met with stalwart silence on the part of Marcia Noonan, the complex manager, and it turns out we weren't the only ones getting stonewalled.

Reporter Joanne Beck called up the complex on Monday and got nowhere. Nevertheless, she put together an interesting piece that mostly rehashes what was reported on The Batavian nearly a month ago by our diligent and undaunted readers. She did, however, have some other information that we have not yet seen that helps paint a bit more of a detailed picture.

A resident, who asked not to be identified, has also said the site's emergency system has not been working since this summer. The system involves pull cords in each resident's bed and bath rooms. It was touted as part of the security for an apartment that costs some $2,000 a month plus utilities.

The Batavian also received an anonymous tip on this same topic, but since we were unable to verify the individual's identity, we were unable to publish what was alleged.

Most of Beck's article, as mentioned, is made up of information that Kelly Hansen has been posting on The Batavian over the past three weeks. So, rather than report what we already reported, we will direct you to that earlier post.

Beck raises one point that is particularly confusing and possibly incorrect. She reports that KDA Construction Inc., a subsidiary of Sunwest Management, "filed a mechanic's lien for nearly $164,000 against Victorian Manor for lack of payment." Why would KDA, which is owned by Sunwest, file a lien against Victorian Manor, which is also owned by Sunwest? Wouldn't that amount to the company filing a lien against itself?

Our own research at the Genesee County Clerk's Office found that KDA Construction and Victorian Manor were both named as debtors in the mechanic's lien filed on September 17 by On It Inc., a Rochester-based company that claims $163,480.62 in unpaid labor and material costs. We telephoned On It earler today to see if we could get some more details. Unfortunately, the phone rang indefinitely. No answer. No voice mail. In the notice of the lien filed by On it, the labor and material costs were related to the installation of "HVAC equipment, duct work and piping."

Further, KDA Construction is named as a debtor in a dozen other liens filed over the past three months, totalling more than $1.54 million. The first, for $194,032, was filed on August 29; the most recent, for $22,382, was filed on October 29. In most of those, Batavia Senior Living LLC, the legal name for Victorian Manor, is also named as a debtor. Callea Electric Inc. is named as the creditor in the lien for $339,783.45—the most costly—filed on September 15.

Beck also spoke with a former employee of Victorian Manor who said that while she was employed there, "she was shorted money in her paycheck a number of times and had a couple of company checks bounce for insufficient funds." Ouch! Beck continues:

An investigation by the state Labor Department involved at least two employees who had complained about getting paychecks that did not include all the hours they had worked and about bouncing checks. Noonan had told Labor Standards Investigator Mary Confer that "she was aware checks had bounced" because management firm Sunwest Management had changed banks. However, the time period for bounced checks was from December 2006 to at least until April 2007, records state.

The Batavian called and left another message for Marcia Noonan earlier today. We have not yet received a call back. If we do, you can be sure we will let you know.

Batavia's City Council approved the acceptance of a $90,000 grant to be used for the purchase of a new ambulance by the city's emergency crew, according to the Daily News. At that same meeting, the council approved another grant for $23,980 that will be used for "record management." City Attorney George Van Nest told the group that a lawsuit against the city has been dismissed. A construction worker was suing the city after being injured while on duty. "There was no trial," said Van Nest.

In other news, a brief blurb in the local section claims that Oakfield-Alabama School Principal Scott Read is "not at work due to personal issues." No one knows if or when Read will return, according to Susan Conrad, who spoke with Superintendent Chris Todd.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.

 New York State Assemblyman Steve Hawley paid a visit to the Batavia Lions Club Monday night at the weekly meeting at St. Nicks Club to announce a state donation to the City of Batavia.

Hawley helped get a grant passed to help Batavia decorate the city for Christmas, with much of the money going to the lighting on Main St.

Hawley gave a speech about the current state of government in New York State and told a great story about taking some veterans to Washington, D.C. recently for a visit. 

Hawley, a Batavia republican, has served on the Genesee County Legislature in the past and has been an assemblyman for three years.

The first hint of  trouble came in early May, when The Batavian was but a sprout on the Genesee County media landscape.

After initially welcoming The Batavian enthusiastically, we found out that Batavia City Manager Jason Molino told city employees not to cooperate with The Batavian. We could not even get copies of City Council agendas.

We eventually overcame that specific disability, but we've had an ongoing problem with getting answers from Mr. Molino to basic questions related to city governance, and a general lack of full disclosure form the city and its staff when we've sought it.

Two weeks ago, we took our case to the Batavia City Council. The response was, shall we say, tepid.

And we're disappointed.

Here's our position: The Batavian is a legitimate news organization. We may be web-only; our approach to news may be non-traditional; we may be new to the community, but the First Amendment doesn't address any of those issues. It merely enjoins government agencies to respect press freedom.

To us, that means not merely the right to publish as we see fit, but to have free and unfettered access to the government taxpayers support.

For the past several months, we've found that while the city manager will willingly speak with the Daily News and WBTA, he has completely cut out The Batavian as a channel for information to the citizenry on his positions, policies and actions.

He also maintains an inexplicable and unusually tight reign on the tongues of other city staff members.

At first, we hoped for improvement, but with none forthcoming, we began documenting Mr. Molino's failure to respond to interview requests. We documented 13 such instances, including instances where he would later be quoted in other media on the same topic, as well as an instance where Mr. Molino had the new fire chief cancel a video interview with The Batavian.

We've kept quiet about this issue because we were hoping for a friendly resolution to the disagreement over fair access, but since the council meeting two weeks ago, we've been trying to get a lunch appointment with Mr. Molino (The Batavian will pay:  Larry's Steakhouse, any afternoon on 24 hours notice). Mr. Molino has declined the invitation.

Given his lack of willingness to fairly discuss this issue, we've decided it is time to offer readers of The Batavian full disclosure about what has been going on.

As a matter of fairness to readers of The Batavian, we believe we are obligated to keep them informed on any issue that inhibits us from fully and faithfully gathering and disseminating information of public interest. While we regret withholding information about this lack of access until now, we hope readers will understand we did so only because we were seeking to settle this issue amicably long ago, and have persisted in this effort in good faith.

The readers of The Batavian have the same rights as the subscribers of the Daily News and the listeners of WBTA to have a representative of this news organization call upon city officials, ask questions and get answers.  It's a fundamental right under the U.S. Constitution.

Clearly, not all city officials agree.

When we first launched The Batavian, we were happy to find in Mr. Molino a welcoming attitude to the expansion of Batavia's media choices. Unfortunately, only days later, he clammed up. In fact, he told all city employees not to cooperate with us in any manner, including denying us access to routine government documents, such as City Council agendas.

Upon further investigation, we learned that City Attorney George Van Nest had told city officials that The Batavian was not "official media" therefore not entitled to any communication from the city.

That was a curious statement for an attorney to make, so I called Mr. Van Nest and confirmed that he did indeed make that statement. I reminded him that under the First Amendment, there is no such thing as "official press."  After much discussion, he agreed to allow the city to release routine government documents to us and promised full and fair access.

We have not gotten it.

After our presentation to the Council two weeks ago, only one council member spoke to the topic of our speech.  The lack of interest by the Council may, frankly, have owed to the degree to which we placed the burden for lack of access on Mr. Molino.  We've since heard that some council members objected to that tone of the presentation, even those who had encouraged us to make a public plea for greater access, not just for The Batavian, but all of the local media (Mr. Molino does not allow any city staff to speak to any media).

The lone council member to speak on the topic was Bill Cox. He made the clearly contradicted statement -- he had in front of him contrary evidence at the time -- that The Batavian was receiving the same access as any other media outlet.

Since we've reached what seems to be an insurmountable impasse, we think it's only fair we bring this subject to the attention of our readers.

We're not looking for a fight.  We could, if we wanted, start posting Jason's phone number and e-mail address every time we had a question and ask readers to get the information needed; or, we could openly encourage city employees to give us anonymous tips on city business; or we could file a lawsuit. 

The first two options would only serve to cause further hard feelings, and a lawsuit, costing taxpayers money, would subvert our goal to do what is best for Batavia.

So we are left with but a third option: To just drop the issue.

We're doing quite well without the city manager's cooperation, and we imagine we will continue to do quite well whether Mr. Molino favors us with a word or two from time to time or not.

We're not here to be the "official" news source of Batavia. We're quite happy to let the Daily News carry the mantle of "paper of record."  We just think it would be nice to get questions answered when we are curious about an issue or event. If Mr. Molino is unwilling to do that, we think in the long run he is causing more harm to the city than he is to The Batavian. If we're right about that, our best course may be just to let well enough alone and trust that eventually, Mr. Molino or his successor, probably many years from now, will find it counter productive to give any media the silent treatment.

I've uploaded two related documents to our position -- a PDF of court cases that support our position, and a letter from the New York Newspaper Publishers' Association specifically encouraging the city to cooperate with The Batavian.

Batavia's CIty Manager Jason Molino told the Daily News that the city's public works union has dropped its grievance with the city. That union had taken issue with the city's "use of volunteer's in the place of public works employees." Beck writes:

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees filed the grievance after the 2007 Summer in the City festival. The group claimed it lost out on overtime work during the summer event.

I can't imagine city taxpayers would ever take the side of the union in this dispute. If the city can save $3,000—the figure cited by Beck—by getting more volunteers to clean up at the festival, why wouldn't they?

As Business Improvement District Manager Don Burkel said: "Our motive has always been that if we can save the city money, then we'll do that. It's a volunteer group. We're doing volunteer things." The BID runs the Summer in the City event.

We encourage you to pick up a copy of the Daily News at your local newsstand. Or, better yet, subscribe at BataviaNews.com.