It's been snowing in Genesee County pretty much continually since last night, but as you can see from the banks of the Tonawanda along West Main Street, Batavia, that there hasn't been much accumulation.
What accumulation there has been is pretty much just slush.
The Weather Service says expect more of the same through tomorrow.
New burglary charges have been filed against Francis S. Smith, 19, formerly of 20 S. Main St., Batavia, who was arrested Jan. 1 while allegedly committing a burglary on Washington Avenue.
Batavia PD announced this morning that Smith is now a suspect in burglaries on River Street, South Main Street, Pearl Street, Madison Avenue and Franklin Street.
In all, he faces seven new burglary charges to go along with the initial charge from Jan. 1 as well as two additional charges brought by the Sheriff's Office earlier this week.
Smith is being held in the Genesee County Jail.
As it stands right now, if you're a City of Batavia resident, you have no idea who will pick up your garbage come April 1.
Monday night, the city council rejected, on a 2-7 vote, a change in the trash ordinance that, by their own admission, they asked city staff to draft. And with the Genesee ARC contract expiring March 31, it will take some quick work to come up with a new trash plan.
The clear direction from the council members after the 2-7 vote: get the city out of the trash business.
That means a municipal contract with Genesee ARC, after 28 years, will not be renewed and each property owner or resident will be free to select any trash collection vendor.
Councilman Jim Russell said that while council members heard from Genesee ARC supporters, they also heard from a lot of people who liked the proposed changes to trash collection in the city. But more, he said, they heard from people who said the city shouldn't be involved in trash collection at all.
"The City of Batavia or any government entity doesn’t belong in business if they don’t have to be," Russell said. "We have a lot of work to do. But if we can make this happen, people will have the choice they asked for."
Donna Saskowski, executive director of Genesee ARC, said after the decision that her agency is ready to provide trash service to city residents on a contract basis if the council fashions a plan that allows ARC to fulfill its primary mission: Employ people with disabilities.
"I think there needs to be some resolution and some more equitable way to charge people for trash and recycling," Saskowski said.
ARC is has always been ready to provide a rate-based service, she said.
"We never had that discussion," Saskowski said. "They never discussed that with me. We never knew about the rates. I think that’s something that’s really up to the council. We’re ready to provide a service. We’ll see what happens."
Saskowski indicated, however, there's still a chance Genesee ARC could get a sole-source contract with the city.
"I still think preferred-source vendor discussion should still be on the table," Saskowski said. "I don't think the city administration agrees with me, but I think it should.
"I was always willing to work ith the city before and I'm willing to work with them now."
The two votes in favor of the new trash plan came from Pierluigi Cipollone and Rose Mary Christian.
Cipollone pointed out that the proposal before the council was what members asked city staff to draft and by the direction of council, it reduces property taxes.
"If we're trying to be a fisically responsible council, this is something we need to do," Cipollone said.
After the decision was made, Cipollone warned that the council was about to embark on a plan that would cost city residents a lot more money.
"The people of Batavia will be spending more now on an individual basis than they would have from any of the offers on the table," Cipollone said.
Molino said he accepted the council's decision to change directions at the 11th hour.
"We did what we were asked in putting together budget, but sometimes things take turns we can’t predict," Molino said. "That happened this time, so now we respond to it."
At a Wednesday evening meeting, city staff will present a plan to the council that will keep trash out of the city budget -- meaning the 16-percent tax cut is retained -- and prepares the city for conversion to a self-selected, private-hauler solution.
Between now and Wednesday city staff will need to figure out the logistics of ensuring all city residents are ready to contract for their own trash collection by April 1, or find out if it's possible to extend Genesee ARC's contract for some period of time, buying more time for the conversion to a private-hauler system.
City council votes down proposed trash ordinance 7-2. The rest of the agenda is tabled, including the budget proposal.
Direction from council to City Manager Jason Molino is to get the city out of the trash business completely.
We posted earlier today about plans by the City of Batavia to auction off properties obtained because of unpaid taxes. One of those properties is the former Green Wolf Pub on Ellicott Street.
Potential business opportunity for somebody.
The sentencing for Randy Johnson, a Batavia man who admitted in November to causing a baby's brain injuries, was delayed today because Judge Robert C. Noonan wants to hear from an expert witness before deciding how to proceed.
Noonan said he has the full range of sentencing options for Johnson, from probation to seven years in prison, but he doesn't have enough information.
"The missing companion is a medical analysis of exactly what conduct had to be occasioned on the victim in order to cause such a serious medical outcome," Noonan said.
Noonan would like prosecution to bring in either the treating physician or an expert in shaken baby syndrome to fill in the missing information.
He said the defense would also have an opportunity to present testimony and the defense would have the option of putting Johnson on the stand.
Both of the primary attorneys in the case, District Attorney Lawrence Friedman, and Deputy Public Defender William Tedford, are on vacation, therefore not in court today. Noonan asked for a date -- 10:15, a.m. March 14 -- with both attorneys able to give an estimate of the time they would need for testimony.
The hearing will set be at a later date.
On Nov. 28, Johnson admitted to causing the injuries to the baby, but entered his pleas to reckless assault on a child on an Alford plea basis. He said he cold not admit to the specific actions attributed to him by the prosecution.
The Batavia City Council meets at city hall tonight at 7 o'clock and top on the agenda are the proposed changes to how garbage and recycling are collected in the city.
The council will be asked to pass several resolutions, which will: alter the city's solid waste code; enter into a bond anticipation note to buy totes; enter into a contract with Allied Waste Services for trash and recycling collection; purchase totes from Cascade Engineering; establish a refuse and recycling fund; and set a refuse and recycling user fee.
All must pass in order for a new system to go into effect.
Supporters of Genesee ARC are expected once again to fill council chambers in hopes of persuading at least five council members to vote against the proposed plan.
If the changes go through, a 28-year relationship between ARC and the city for garbage collection comes to an end.
Following the seven resolution items, the council will be asked to adopt a budget resolution. The budget contains an 16-percent cut in the property tax rate. The reduction hinges on the new trash program. If that vote fails, it's unlikely the council will be able to approve the proposed budget and the city will need to redraft the budget.
There is no agenda item for public comment during the special business meeting.
Following the special business meeting, the council will hold a conference meeting.
On the conference meeting agenda are items to establish an investment policy and the Dwyer Stadium lease for the Batavia Muckdogs.
Also on the agenda is consideration of foreclosed properties.
The city has foreclosed on five properties for delinquent property taxes. City staff is recommending three of the properties go up for public auction and that two of the properites be provided to Habitat for Humanity for restoration.
Recommended for auction are:
Recommended for Habitat are 11 Harvester Ave. and 2 McKinley. Both properties were once owned by the Pontillo family. Both properties have been vacant for a considerable amount of time. Habitat, according to the staff report, has reviewed both properties and expressed an interest.
Over the past seven years, Habitat has rehabilitated five single-family homes in the city. The average assessed value has climbed from $49,520 to $68,400.
Jihad Abdul Hakiim, 19, of W. 168th St., New York City, and William A. Hucks, 18, of State Road, Webster, are charged with burglary, 2nd. Hakiim and Hucks allegedly entered a dormitory suite at College Village through a window and took two XBox game consoles and games. Hakiim was jailed on $15,000 bail and Hucks was jailed on $5,000 bail. The case was investigated by Deputy Brian Thompson with K-9 Pharoah, Investigator William Ferrando, Deputy Patrick Reeves and Trooper Eric Daigler.
Jessie Marie Cramer, 27, of Bank Street, Batavia, was arrested on a bench warrant. Cramer allegedly failed to appear in Town of Batavia Court on a petit larceny charge.
Justin Ryan Bidell, 38, of Meadville Road, Basom, was arrested on a bench warrant. Bidell turned himself in to the Sheriff's Office on a warrant for alleged failure to pay fine.
Andrew William Bruckman, of Robertson Road, Churchville, is charged with unlawful possession of marijuana. Bruckman was stopped on Route 33, Stafford, at 6:08 p.m. on Saturday by Deputy Kevin McCarthy, for allegedly pulling a trailer with switched plates and having an unregistered trailer. During the stop, Bruckman was allegedly found in possession of marijuana.
Steven Ronald Dennis, 23, of Maple Ridge Road, Medina, is charged with felony DWI, felony driving with a BAC of .08 or greater, speeding (94 in a 55 mph and 84 in a 30 mph), and unlawful possession of marijuana. Dennis was stopped at 1:21 a.m., Sunday, on Water Street, Oakfield, by Deputy James Diehl.
Eric Alexander Ion, 40, of Pike Road, Batavia, is charged with felony criminal contempt and assault, 3rd. Ion allegedly violated an order of protection by assaulting the protect party, causing injury. Ion was jailed on $2,500 bail.
Jon Hoyt Bush, 29, of Route 98, Elba, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Bush was arrested on a warrant after being released from the Livingston County Jail. Bush was jailed in Genesee County on $1,000 bail.
Cazan Jayrryary Cummings, 20, of Avenue W, Brooklyn, is charged with trespassing. Cummings was allegedly at College Village after being banned from the property.
Nicole Lee Cramer, 23, of West Main Street, Le Roy, is charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance, 7th. Cramer was a passenger in a vehicle stopped on Route 5, City of Batavia, at 1:07 a.m. on Saturday by Deputy Patrick Reeves. Cramer was allegedly found in possession of alcohol in a motor vehicle. Upon further investigation, an amount of suspected cocaine was found concealed in an undergarment.
A pedestrian has been hit at Main and Center streets, Batavia,
The pedestrian is currently in a deputy's vehicle.
No report of serious injury.
UPDATE: Female pedestrian transported to UMMC with a complaint of pain in her legs.
Today was the third annual Bridal Show at Terry Hills. Unfortunately, I got there later in the afternoon and most of the big crowd that had been there when the doors opened had moved on, but organizers said the show was a another big success. Above, models showing off gowns from Stella's Bridal Boutique in Le Roy.
It wouldn't be a stretch to say that Sgt. John Peck, during his 25 years with the Batavia PD, has been a lifesaver.
He never fired his service weapon, and on several occasions he talked people out of jumping off roofs or into dropping a knife or gun.
He's been one of the department's hostage negotiators.
He got the job, he said, because, "I kind of had the gift of gab."
Perhaps the most stressful negotiation came near the end of his career, in November, when a resident of a boarding house on State Street fired a .357 Magnum inside his apartment.
Peck was the first officer in the building. When he got to the top of the stairs, Dennis G. Wolfe was allegedly in his doorway with his gun.
For the next 15 minutes, Peck talked. It helped, he said, that he already knew Wolfe.
Both men had guns. There were five police officers in the foyer. It was, to say the least, a tense situation.
When Peck saw a tear, he knew he had turned a corner in the negotiation.
It's always that way, Peck said. You never think you're not going to be able to talk a person away from the brink of disaster.
"Your adrenaline gets going and you get really focused and you don’t even think of not resolving it," Peck said, adding later, "You kind of tell which direction it's going, but you never feel like you're not going to to be successful."
Peck's last day on the force was Saturday.
In retirement, Peck will get a few more tattoos, ride his motorcycle when the weather warms up, and maybe get a part-time job that has nothing to do with law enforcement.
He plans to stay in Batavia, where his wife of eight years, Jennifer, and two adult children, Ryan and Ashley, live.
After growing up in Fairport and going to college, he started his career working part time in the Livingston County Jail.
"When you're a young guy, you don't want to spend your time in the jail," Peck said. "You want to be on road patrol."
Soon, he took a police officer's job in Geneseo. Two years later, better benefits and pay lured him to Batavia.
Working in a small city appealed to Peck, he said, because while you get a good variety of calls, serious crime is still rare.
"It's not like you have homicides every day, like in, say, Rochester," Peck said.
There's been plenty of opportunity to talk with people, get to know people and work with people, Peck said, which is his favorite part of police work.
He also likes solving problems.
"When you get a complaint, you look at it like a puzzle, putting the pieces together and resolving an issue," Peck said.
In 25 years in Batavia, though, a lot has changed, though, Peck said.
There are more calls for service, more people causing more problems and a shrinking police force to deal with the call volume.
Peck's advice for the new guys: "Stick together" and learn to prioritize.
The new officers must cope with the demands of a changing Batavia, Peck said, plus they have to deal with a changing department structure (eliminating the lieutenant position, for example) and a less generous retirement package.
"They need to stick together as a group and face the challenges," Peck said.
The biggest difference Peck has noticed in Batavia, he said, is the public's attitude toward law enforcement.
"I don't see as much support for the police over the years," Peck said. "I think a lot has changed as far as respect, especially from a lot of younger people. You just don’t see the respect and you have to come to terms with that and learn to deal with it."
The Blue Devils started a little flat in their first-round match of Section V playoffs at Batavia High School on Saturday, going a few minutes into the first quarter before scoring.
Defense and poor ball handling by Waterloo, who came into the game seeded #8 with a season record of 5-13, kept the game notched at 0-0 for more than three minutes.
Batavia would find their range, though, and finish out the first quarter with a 13-2 lead on their way to a 60-37 victory.
Justin Washington led all scorers with 19 points and crossed the 1,000-career-point milestone.
"It’s hard to keep these guys motivated (playing a #8 seed) and keep the good habits you try to build," said Head Coach Buddy Brasky. "I thought we did a fairly good job for most of that game, staying within our defensive principles. That was the whole big concern for me, you know, not to start reaching, going for steals. We want to play solid defensively. That’s what’s going to lead us to the sectional title."
Jalen Smith, a key spark for Batavia's offense, hadn't touched a basketball in a week, Braskey said. He hadn't been out of bed in four days. Half the team, he said, has been sick most of the week, which explains as much about the slow start as playing the #8 seed.
"That was part of it, too," Brasky said. "We’ve really been battling this flu since last Saturday."
After Washington scored his 1,000th point in the fourth quarter, announcer Wayne Fuller stopped the game for the announcement and Washington's teammates and coaches congratulated him on the achievement.
"It means a lot to me," Washington said. "It’s something to talk about my whole varsity career. After Andrew (Hoy) did it, I wanted to do it."
Washington has been a pleasure to coach through his four seasons as a varsity starter, Brasky said.
"He’s been a really nice kid to have in our program and I’m really happy for him," Brasky said.
Next up for Batavia, a semi-final match against #5 seed Livonia, 8:15 p.m., Tuesday, at RIT.
Also, last night, Le Roy's boys fell to #1 seed Hornel, 62-42. Scoring for Le Roy: Marcus Mistersaro 7; Zach Moore 11; Nate Piazza 6; Le Roy finishes the year 6-13.
The other big Section V boys basketball game this week: #1 seed Notre Dame (19-0) vs. #5 Avon (13-7), 7 p.m., at Cal-Mum.
In girls Section V playoff action:
Coverage Note: We're not completely settled on what we'll cover yet. On Monday night, at most we can cover one game because I'll be at the Batavia City Council meeting. On Tuesday, Nick Sabato will cover Batavia and I'll cover Elba/Notre Dame.
To purchase prints of these photos, click here.
Press release:
City crews are repairing a water main break in front of 155 Trumbull Parkway. Residents on Trumbull Parkway between East Avenue and North Street may be without water during the repair. If you experience discolored water after the water is restored, please run your water until it once again becomes clear.
UPDATE 12:41 p.m.: Repairs were completed about an hour ago.
Francis Scott Smith, 19, who was allegedly caught in the act of burglarizing a home in Batavia on Jan. 1, has been accused of stealing from two other homes in Pembroke in September and October.
Smith, who is being held in the Genesee County Jail on his previous charge, was arraigned in Pembroke Town Court yesterday and then returned to the jail.
He is accused of stealing cash and jewelry from two separate homes on Read Road, Pembroke.
The new charges follow an investigation by William Ferrando with the Sheriff's Office.
The BB-gun incident at Batavia Middle School yesterday, as first reported by The Batavian, is apparently getting wider media attention.
A Rochester TV news van was reportedly parked illegally on Ross Street a few minutes ago.
And, just now, Batavia PD released the following statement to all regional media:
The Batavia Police and Batavia School officials are jointly investigating the details of a student bringing a BB Gun into the Batavia Middle School. As part of the investigation it has been determined that at no time was the BB gun displayed or any threats made. School officials discovered the gun based on an unrelated incident. Both the School and the Police Department will use the proper procedures to ensure all are safe and the person responsible is dealt with in accordance with the proper procedure in place for juveniles who violate school rules and New York State laws.
As part of a project to make the Mancuso Office Building at 26 Harvester Ave., Batavia, handicap accessible, a new elevator is being installed behind the building.
Mancuso Business Development Group President Tom Mancuso said other accessibility upgrades are being made to the building in all the public areas, such as the bathrooms.
The four-story building is split-level, with the first floor not being on grade with either the front or the back of the building, so the elevator is being designed to make five stops.
A new lobby is being installed in the back of the building that will be at grade with the back parking lot.
"It's just (such) a historic, attractive building that we didn't want to make changes to the front of it," Mancuso said.
The elevator should be operational by the end of March.
Mancuso didn't reveal the cost of the project, but indicated it is expensive. The entire project is privately financed, he said.
One of the building's current tenants, Rosicki Rosicki & Associates, is an enthusiastic supporter of working with disabled people, Mancuso said.
Another Mancuso tenant, in the Harvester Center, Larry Brown, is a disabled veteran.
"He's always helping us be aware of and work on our accessibility issues," Mancuso said.
Parents in the Batavia City School District were informed tonight that a student at Batavia Middle School is being disciplined for bringing a BB gun to school.
It wasn't a rifle, it wasn't a handgun, it was a BB gun a student had a in backpack in his locker, Superintendent Christopher Dailey emphasized in an interview tonight.
"He didn't think it would be anything to worry about," Dailey said. "Unfortunately for him, it was a really bad choice. He didn't have it at school to hurt anyone or defend himself. He wanted to play with it after school. It was a random poor choice by a kid."
The search was initiated, Daily said, because school officials suspected the student may have brought tobacco to school.
The "random poor choice" by the student had landed the kid in Family Court, according to Batavia Police Chief Shawn Heubusch.
Heubusch confirmed tonight that school officials turned over to police a BB gun that was located in a student locker.
"Batavia school officials should be praised for their quick response to this incident," Heubusch said.
Dailey said school officials take issues like this seriously and his automated phone call tonight was aimed at keeping parents informed and designed to quell rumors about it possibly being a more serious matter.
"I felt it important to share because we don't have anything to hide," Dailey said.
In his message, Daily said, "Having a BB gun on school grounds is against district policy. The BB gun was turned over immediately to the Batavia City Police. The student was removed and will be held accountable according to our district code of conduct."
A car struck a utility pole in the area of 4 Law St. about 10 minutes ago, causing a power outage in some parts of the city. The pole has high-tension wires and it's snapped in half. Traffic will be rerouted at Jackson and Chestnut streets and Law and Walnut streets. Unknown injuries. National Grid is notified, no ETA given. In some places, power went out and within, say, two minutes came back on again.
UPDATE 7:23 p.m.: National Grid is on scene.
UPDATE 7:31 p.m.: There were no injuries. The driver was a sign-off.
Sandra Eileen Pawlukewicz, 46, of Gibson Street, Bergen, is charged with criminal possession of stolen property, 5th. Pawlukewicz was stopped at 4:26 p.m. Tuesday on Lake Road, Le Roy, by Deputy Matthew Butler. She was allegedly driving a vehicle with switched plates and a suspended license. The plates were later found to be stolen.
Jason Lee Perry, 18, of Telephone Road, Pavilion, is charged with criminal contempt, 2nd. Perry is accused of violating a court order by contacting a person he was ordered not to contact. Perry allegedly placed more than 100 phone calls to the person while at the Genesee County Jail.
A 17-year-old resident of Quinlan Road, Le Roy, is charged with petit larceny. The youth is accused of shoplifting from Kmart.
Jon Hoyt Bush, 29, of Oak Orchard Road, Elba, was arrested on a Family Court warrant out of Livingston County. Bush was taken into custody at the Sheriff's Office after Bush went to the office with another individual on an unrelated matter and Deputy Joseph Corona recognized Bush as a warrant suspect.
Here's Thomas Houseknecht's response to the letter from Jason Molino that we posted earlier:
UPDATE: We received this e-mail from Thomas Houseknecht this morning. I think Mr. Houseknecht's note at the top explains the need for the update. I'm not a fan of unpublishing something once it's published. Mr. Houseknecht's original e-mail is preserved after the jump (click on the headline); however, the new one is obviously the one that matters most.
After returning home from work late yesterday and reading Mr. Molino's response that I initially read on The Batavian, I too did not see all of the attachments. Having read them all minimally changes my response to withdraw my statements that my questions have not been answered. The text below is my response corrected after reading the other attachments:
Mr. Molino,
I appreciate the service you provide to our community and the difficulties you are faced with as you prepare a budget. As much as I appreciate the invitation to sit down with you and your staff to review numbers, this public letter you have written to me is puzzling and only adds to my discontent with the current refuse and budget proposal. It seems to have been written to once again praise the value of a user fee approach in an effort to mute the opposition in preparation for City Council’s vote on February 25. Unfortunately, as the City has handled this issue with little prior public input and as part of your overall budget proposal, I have had no alternative but to express my concerns through public comments and media postings. Your offer to discuss it at this late date seems disingenuous as it appears that there is little or no time for dialoging to, as you stated, “better communicate our intentions and goals for the City as it relates to refuse collection both now and in the future,” prior to the Council vote merely two business days away.
In your response, you continue to make your case to impose a user fee and its merits as you see them verses the current means of both collecting refuse and paying for collection. I could make the same argument for school taxes, but both discussions are diversions from the discussion of the actual financial impact on the majority of city residents. In your responses, you draw conclusions that the majority of properties will see a reduction, but this does not necessarily support your conclusion that the majority of residents will save money. Commercial properties, who will be relieved of the costs of refuse collection, are not residents and they do not vote. It stands to reason that if the overall cost of the new program represents a savings of $300,000 to commercial properties and those with higher assessments will achieve a savings as well, that a program with a total savings of approximately $260,000 must be passing on an increase to the lowest valued properties in the city. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that this proposal will adversely affect the majority. I appreciate that you do recognize that failure to remove it from the property tax will cause Council to have to vote to exceed the property tax cap with the current budget as proposed.
My assumptions were simple and need no further explanation as they were arrived at through the City’s website postings, including the 2012 tax rolls. You have the best possible access to this data, yet you again present a biased view of the actual number of city residents who will effectively be paying more for their city services under your proposal. Your answers draw conclusions that once again skew the argument to the user fee. The fact sheet on the City’s website states that “close to 90 percent of city residents will save money under the proposed plan” in a comparison of the current program to a user fee program. At a recent Council meeting, you were quoted in the news media stating that 65 to 75 percent of residents will save money. Your most recent response to my questions as presented to City Council states that 56.4% of single family homes will save. Clearly, from your own statements, the percentage of homes that will save has changed throughout these proceedings. Please explain these statements to the residents of Hutchins St., Swan St., Kingsbury Ave., Lyon St., Tracy Ave., to name a few where the vast majority will pay more. Again I ask, what is the actual number of city residents that will pay more?
Your response to my e-mail to City Council, that I have just received for the first time, attempts to discredit my analysis of homes that will pay more by discounting those that are multi-family and rental properties. As these residents will also be impacted, is it fair to exclude them? Also, the Senior discount does not eliminate the fee, it merely lowers the break-even point. I believe this furthers the argument that the full impact has not been assessed. The misrepresentations in the City’s presentation cause me to further question some of your new assertions.
Batavia has historically included refuse collection in the property tax. Converting to a user fee may be desirable from a budget preparer’s standpoint, but it will adversely impact the majority of city residents. This simple fact must be recognized and be a part of the discussion. City management’s attempt to leave this fact out of the discussion is unacceptable and dishonest to me. It is possible that all of the numbers being discussed by both of us are thoroughly confusing to City residents. Therefore, at the public hearing I asked Council, and will again ask Council to take the five following steps :
1. If you still have doubts about the analysis I have presented, have city management or an independent party review the tax roles and determine exactly how many residents will be adversely impacted. The 2012 assessment role is available on the city’s website for all to see.
2. Once you have completed your due diligence, vote against the change to the ordinance that is required to change the current refuse program to a user fee.
3. Find out why you were presented with bad information upon which to base your decision and take the appropriate actions to insure that it doesn’t happen again.
4. Take another look at the budget and cut unnecessary functions of city government.
5. Establish a refuse committee of citizens, which I would be happy to serve on, to look at how recycling could be increased or a PAYT system could be phased in with ARC as our provider in a manner that would truly benefit all residents.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that I appreciate the difficult job you have in preparing and implementing a budget for the City of Batavia, especially when faced with NY’s property tax cap. I simply ask that all of the facts be presented in a fair, honest and concise manner before our council members are asked to put their reputations on the line with their votes.
Sincerely,
Thomas Houseknecht
Original e-mail replaced by the revised one.
Mr. Molino,
I appreciate the service you provide to our community and the difficulties you are faced with as you prepare a budget. As much as I appreciate the invitation to sit down with you and your staff to review numbers, this public letter you have written to me is puzzling and only adds to my discontent with the current refuse and budget proposal. It seems to have been written to once again praise the value of a user fee approach without answering any of the questions or concerns I have raised in an effort to mute the opposition in preparation for City Council’s vote on February 25. Unfortunately, as the City has handled this issue with little prior public input and as part of your overall budget proposal, I have had no alternative but to express my concerns through public comments and media postings. Your offer to discuss it at this late date seems disingenuous as it appears that there is little or no time for dialoging to, as you stated, “better communicate our intentions and goals for the City as it relates to refuse collection both now and in the future,” prior to the Council vote merely two business days away.
You opened your letter stating that you were responding to my questions, but you did not respond to any of them. You simply make your case to impose a user fee and its’ merits as you see them verses the current means of both collecting refuse and paying for collection. I could make the same argument for school taxes, but both discussions are diversions from the discussion of the actual financial impact on the majority of city residents. This statement of your reasoning for the conversion does not answer the question as to whether this proposal will adversely affect the majority nor does it answer the question as to whether it attempts to get around a vote on the city’s property tax cap, as I have asserted.
My assumptions were simple and need no further explanation as they were arrived at through the City’s website postings, including the 2012 tax rolls. You have the best possible access to this data, yet you again fail to reveal the actual number of city residents who will effectively be paying more for their city services under your proposal. If you use the average assessments quoted in your response, any reasonable person would agree that it is dishonest to make the case that the majority of residents will save money under the proposed system. Yet the fact sheet on the City’s website states that “close to 90 percent of city residents will save money under the proposed plan.” At a recent Council meeting, you were quoted in the news media stating that 65 to 75 percent of residents will save money. Your most recent response to my questions as presented to City Council states that 56.4% of single family homes will save. Clearly, from your own statements, the percentage of homes that will save has changed throughout these proceedings. Please explain these statements to the residents of Hutchins St., Swan St., Kingsbury Ave., Lyon St., Tracy Ave., to name a few where the vast majority will pay more. Again I ask, what is the actual number of city homes that will pay more?
Your response to my email to City Council, that I have just received for the first time, attempts to discredit my analysis of homes that will pay more by discounting those that are multi-family and rental properties. As these residents will also be impacted, is it fair to exclude them? Also, the Senior discount does not eliminate the fee, it merely lowers the breakeven point. I believe this furthers the argument that the full impact has not been assessed. The misrepresentations in the City’s presentation cause me to further question some of your new assertions, especially the one where you state that all properties under $77,200 will benefit with lower costs. If the City has to live within the 2% property tax cap, the break-even point becomes $85,600.
Batavia has historically included refuse collection in the property tax. Converting to a user fee may be desirable from a budget preparer’s standpoint, but it will adversely impact the majority of city residents. This simple fact must be recognized and be a part of the discussion. City management’s attempt to leave this fact out of the discussion is unacceptable and dishonest to me. It is possible that all of the numbers being discussed by both of us are thoroughly confusing to City residents. Therefore, at the public hearing I asked Council, and will again ask Council to take the five following steps :
1. If you still have doubts about the analysis I have presented, have city management or an independent party review the tax roles and determine exactly how many residents will be adversely impacted. The 2012 assessment role is available on the city’s website for all to see.
2. Once you have completed your due diligence, vote against the change to the ordinance that is required to change the current refuse program to a user fee.
3. Find out why you were presented with bad information upon which to base your decision and take the appropriate actions to insure that it doesn’t happen again.
4. Take another look at the budget and cut unnecessary functions of city government.
5. Establish a refuse committee of citizens, which I would be happy to serve on, to look at how recycling could be increased or a PAYT system could be phased in with ARC as our provider in a manner that would truly benefit all residents.
In closing, I would like to reiterate that I appreciate the difficult job you have in preparing and implementing a budget for the City of Batavia, especially when faced with NY’s property tax cap. I simply ask that all of the facts be presented in a fair, honest and concise manner before our council members are asked to put their reputations on the line with their votes.
Sincerely,
Thomas Houseknecht
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