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By MICHAEL RUKAVINA OBSERVER Staff Writer The village of Fredonia will not be participating in the Chautauqua County Drug Task Force program this budget season, that much is clear. The village, if it had been approved by county officials, would have received $20,000 from a Chautauqua County Grant to help fund the position. During the County Legislature’s October meeting an amendment was on the agenda adding $100,000 for the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force. With Fredonia, funding would have went to both the cities of Dunkirk and Jamestown to offset some of their expenses in having officers on the task force. During that meeting however, Mayor Michael Sullivan took the floor with a prepared statement regarding the amendment. “I wish to oppose the proposed budget amendment that would fund a small portion of the drug task force officer assigned by the village,” he said as mayor of the village of Fredonia. The page long statement led to the dismissal of the amendment, which may or may not have passed if proposed, and has now left a bitter taste in the mouths of the village trustee majority. “It certainly was a shock, a disappointment, that the mayor would present something without letting any of us know that was his intent when he first went down in September,” Mackay said, referring to when village officials lobbied the legislature for increased funding in the task force. “It has strained our trust relationship and it makes the working relationship much much more difficult. It’s not whether he was right or wrong in his opinion, it’s not so much he has strained our relations with other communities because they also lost money. Their legislators could have stepped up and sponsored the resolution so that’s separate, but the issue was the total lack of respect.” Mackay went on to say that the village is an anomaly when it comes to its trustees and mayor and that the village is a strong council and a weak mayor. The board makes the policies and the laws and the mayor is the executive branch which executes what the board has directed him and authorized him to do, she continued. “He can have an opinion, but as a mayor he is to carry out the wishes of the board,” she said. Sullivan viewed the trip to Mayville and his comments from a a different perspective. “Bottom line, I don’t speak for them and they don’t speak for me,” he said. “There will be differences of opinion and that’s what makes government an interesting place.” Sullivan was opposed to several items pertaining to the amendment, the drug task force officer and the implications it may have on the village budget. “There are times when I have to sign documents that they direct that I sign, there are times I am directed to make certain statements, but short of that I have an opinion that can be different from theres and that night I went up there as a person who has to prepare a budget I didn’t want to be in a situation where I have to prepare a budget and have an extra officer on duty and then have no money after the $20,000 was gone,” he said. “If they had taken a position and voted to ask the legislature to do that I probably would have felt the need to present their resolution, but I still would have given my dissenting comments to it. Any number of issues I can have a dissenting comment on and I have been known to do that in the past and will continue to when I think it’s appropriate.” Whether or not the funding was one-time of not was no reason to deny the drug task force officer according to Fredonia Chief of Police Brad Meyers, who said the village used to receive $3,000 less each year for that position and never was that money guaranteed from year to year. “Now the county steps up and offers $3,000 more than we’ve been receiving with no guarantee funding will continue and we say ‘no.’ The conditions we were willing to work under last year for less we’re no longer willing to work under for more, I don’t understand why,” he questioned. “We know we have a drug issue within the village of Fredonia. We know we need to address that drug issue and we know that many of the quality of life crimes are being committed within the village are occurring as a result of drug addictions and drug sales.” Meyers explained that the financial impact the drug task force officer has on the village budget is not as critical as Sullivan appears it to be. If in the task force the department would move a senior officer into the task force and would replace him in the department by a new officer without benefits for the first year. “The actual cost is what it costs to hire a new officer, which is not what a top step officer with full benefits costs. Take that new officer and minus the $20,000 from the county and you’re not talking anywhere near the financial hit as the mayor is putting out there,” Meyers said. “The point he makes with regards to the fact next year and the years following this officer will receive the benefits package and he will move up the step ladder, that is absolutely correct. But, that’s not to say that we wouldn’t or shouldn’t continue to have these discussions with the county regarding a recurring contribution to the task force to offset the cost associated with having an officer on it.” “We’re paying for that senior officer no matter what, whether he’s on the task force or not,” trustee Joseph Cerrie commented. “To replace him it would be anywhere from $35,000 to $45,000. That $20,000 could have covered fifty to sixty percent of the total cost of a brand new patrolman.” Even still Sullivan felt the handout still does not address the overall problem he has with the way the residents of Fredonia continue to have to underwrite countywide expenses. “If it’s important countywide, fund it countywide, and don’t try and back me in a corner so I’m stuck writing up a budget with no revenue for an expensive position that is a countywide thing,” he said. “Forget this amendment, get moving on a local law to create a Department of Central Police Services. Look at proposals for using existing local police departments to extend their areas of service and save the taxpayers a considerable amount of money in their county tax bills. There must be a fair and equitable way to share this large cost. Pay for what you use like village residents pay the cost of their elections.” Sullivan referenced numbers from 2009 in his argument to the county showing how much the village of Fredonia pays for county Sheriff Administration and Road Patrol. Fredonia payed $226,001, third behind only the city of Jamestown at $372,068 and Chautauqua at $484,116 while the villages like Sherman and Forestville paid only $8,808 and $10,878 respectively. All angels of argument aside, the butting of heads and clashing of opinions has left a disconnect between the mayor and several trustees. “I’m disappointed with the mayor because his lack of respect for the village board. To say we don’t need the money, of course (the legislature) is going to take it as a boards decision,” Cerrie said. “The village board, four of the five, did not approve or agree with the comment the mayor had made on behalf of the village board. Unfortunately it’s an eleventh hour decision on his part.” Comments on this article may be sent to mrukavina@observertoday.com

 

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