Sloan village officials could never quite see how dissolving the village would save money.

It’s a given that they like the village and want it to continue, and that they believe it offers cost-effective government.

So they compared the most recent tax bills paid in Sloan, and bills from similar property in the Town of Cheektowaga. And when they found out the village taxes were lower, they distributed the information to residents.

“So they know what they’re saving or not going to be saving,” Mayor Leonard Szymanski said. “Every little nickel counts for these seniors.”

Not so fast, says dissolution advocate Kevin Gaughan. Comparing a village tax bill to a town tax bill misses the point, he said.

“To say, perhaps in Sloan, residents pay slightly less property tax than Cheektowaga is like saying you have slightly fewer heart attacks than Dick Cheney,” he likes to say. “It’s nothing to write home about.”

But paying taxes is something property owners can understand. And a home assessed at $43,500 in Sloan paid a total of $1,689.99 in village, town and county taxes this year. A house with the same assessment in Cheektowaga paid $1,760.77, or $70 more, according to the village study.

The town tax bill includes general and highway taxes, as well as payments for fire, sewer, drainage, light-

ing and garbage districts. The village bill includes highway, fire, sewer, lighting, garbage and recycling.

Village Clerk Debbie Smith said the village has very little debt.

“Bigger government is not always better,” she said. “When you have a small municipality, you know where your money is going and you can account for that.”

The village has 26 employees, not including part-time summer help. Five employees are full time — the clerk and four public works employees — and the rest are part-timers and include the five Village Board members, she said.

Cheektowaga Supervisor Mary Holtz said she does not believe there would be large savings if the village dissolved, in part because the town already provides many services, such as police, courts, assessing and some road work. The town also has senior and youth services available to town and village residents. The village has its own recreation and senior services.

“Until you really sit down and look at it all, you won’t really know,” she said.

Gaughan, who filed petitions forcing the dissolution votes in Sloan, Williamsville and Farnham, said one of the reasons taxes may be lower in Sloan than its surrounding town is that the village is getting money from other sources to support its government, such as sales tax and fees.

“Those numbers are a very narrow portrait of a much broader and costlier system,” Gaughan said. “The work I’m doing seeks to reduce the tax burden in each of our 45 governments.”

Sales tax has increased over the years to support government, he said, adding that if the sales tax is reduced, he believes there would be an explosion in commercial activity.

“By eliminating village government, we eliminate the need for sales tax subsidization,” Gaughan said.

The vote on whether to dissolve Sloan village government will be conducted from noon to 9 p. m. Tuesday in the Sloan Fire Hall.