Williamsville leaders and civic activists are closing the door on Kevin Gaughan faster than he can knock.

And they continue to attack his assertion that village residents needlessly pay more taxes.

So Gaughan will hold meetings on Williamsville dissolution in four locations, starting Aug. 2.

Early last month, the Village of Williamsville Citizens Study Group formally extended an invitation to Gaughan to speak to residents at three community meetings ahead of the Aug. 17 dissolution referendum.

Gaughan accepted the invitation, only to find out weeks later that he had been “disinvited.”

“We will not have a conversation with a liar. Period,” said Chris Duquin, head of the group.

Gaughan requested the opportunity to debate the merits of dissolution with the Village Board. He received a written response last month respectfully declining “in order to avoid tainting an otherwise healthy dialogue on the issue.”

Duquin said his group won’t meet with Gaughan because he isn’t presenting any concrete dissolution plan or providing realistic estimates of what village residents could save.

Gaughan responded that the original invitation letter from Duquin placed no caveats or qualifiers on his appearance.

“My view is that the citizens of Williamsville deserve to hear from both sides,” he said. “The Citizens Study Group’s position is that we will not do that unless we prescreen the information from the other side and approve it.”

Given how much time has passed since Duquin sent him the invitation, Gaughan said he wonders whether the original offer to speak was genuine.

Duquin said that after Gaughan distributed literature with “lies” stating that village residents pay $932.21 more every year in property taxes than Town of Amherst residents, his group was united in its opposition to Gaughan’s speaking.

Gaughan said the numbers he included in the flier were provided by the New York State Office of Real Property Services, not made up by him.

A Buffalo News review of the numbers shows Gaughan’s numbers are real. But they don’t reflect an exact apples-to-apples comparison.

Gaughan’s $932.21 figure is based on 2007 tax data, comparing the school, county, town and village property taxes on a $150,000 village home in the Williamsville School District against the school, county and town taxes on a $150,000 Amherst home in the Clarence School District.

Both sets of figures exclude water fees — which are higher in the village — as well as many, if not all, sewer fees. But the town property tax figure excludes “special district” taxes for lighting, garbage and fire services, which are rolled into the village property tax number.

As for a concrete dissolution plan, Gaughan said he has one and will reveal details of his plan for the first time at 7 p. m. Aug. 3 in Williamsville South High School, 5950 Main St.

He also will speak to the Rotary Club of Williamsville at 6 p. m. Aug. 2 in Le Metro Cafe, 5110 Main St.; 7 p. m. Aug. 11 in the Eagle House, 5578 Main St.; and 10:30 a. m. Aug. 13 in the Amherst Senior Center, 370 John James Audubon Parkway.