The Village of Williamsville Citizen Study Group wants to hear from Kevin Gaughan.

The group, which describes itself as an unaffiliated group of residents trying to gather facts on the impact of village government dissolution, sent a letter to Gaughan asking for his take on the costs and benefits of dissolving the village.

“Kevin has been talking for a while now about how we can dissolve the village and save money and save services and maintain our sense of community, but we haven’t seen that plan yet,” said group founder Chris Duquin. “We would like him to speak directly to the village residents.”

In response, Gaughan said he doubts the group has a truly unbiased position regarding dissolution, but he would nevertheless be happy to meet with them.

“If this is an invitation to address the Williamsville study group, then I would be honored to do that, and I’d be grateful to have a constructive discussion,” he said.

The Citizen Study Group has been meeting regularly since December and held three larger community meetings that have attracted about 140 people each time, Duquin said.

The group has interviewed village and town board members, as well as some department heads, to get some idea what village residents can expect in terms of services and taxes if the village dissolves, he said.

The group has been disseminating “fact sheets” and updating its Web site with information provided by village and town leaders about how the village might address services and costs if a referendum to dissolve village government passes.

Duquin criticized Gaughan and the media for framing the dissolution debate with political or broad reform rhetoric instead of providing concrete information needed by village residents to make an informed decision.

“All we ask is that we not have a politically loaded conversation full of half-truths and lies where nobody knows what the facts are,” Duquin said.

Gaughan bristled at the criticism.

The responsibility to develop a dissolution plan rests with Village Board, not him, he said. He added, however, that he expects to present a plan for Williamsville by sometime in August. His report would be based on research about how other villages in the state have gone about dissolving their governments, he said.

He also issued a request to village trustees last week asking for an open community debate on the dissolution matter.