Two homes, similar in style, condition and value, were built within two years of each other in the early 1940s on Reist Street. They are located in the same school district, two-fifths of a mile apart in the same residential neighborhood.

The biggest difference: One is in the Village of Williamsville, and one isn't.

Over the past decade, the Williamsville homeowner paid $3,195 more in taxes and fees for the privilege of living within the village's boundaries, even though, for most of that time, his house was assessed for less than the nonvillage house.

After adjusting for differences in assessments, and water and sewer usage, The Buffalo News found that over the past seven years, the village homeowner paid roughly 18 percent more than the nonvillage Amherst homeowner.

That leads to two natural questions: Why? And does it matter?

For Williamsville residents opposing the dissolution of the village, which will come to a public vote Tuesday, the answer is clear.

"The general consensus is that we bought into the village to obtain a certain quality of life, and whatever that quality of life costs us is what we're willing to pay," said Amy Alexander, who heads the Friends of the Village of Williamsville anti-dissolution effort.

But not everyone in the community of 5,100 people feels that way.

"I don't see a difference between the services we see here versus the rest of Amherst," said Michael Garrigan, 33, who, with his wife, has lived in the village home at 134 Reist for six years after living in the Getzville area of Amherst for most of his life.

In the great debate over whether to dissolve the village, cost is only one part of the equation -- albeit a big one.

The other question is whether that money buys peace of mind when it comes to the protection of the village way of life, which includes everything from the village garden walk and Main Street beautification to parks maintenance and sidewalk snowplowing.

"You cannot put a price tag on that," said Kim Addelman, an Amherst real estate sales agent who, with her partner, accounts for the largest share of village homes and keeps a waiting list of prospective buyers. "You're selling a lifestyle."

The question comes down to whether village residents are willing to pay hundreds more year after year to guarantee that quality of life in the face of an uncertain level of services if the village government of 28 full- and part-time employees were dissolved.

Dissolution ringleader Kevin Gaughan said the issue is even bigger than village versus town, centering on reversing a pattern of population decline and growth-inhibiting property taxes throughout Western New York.

All sides have speculated on how much more or less village residents would pay in taxes if the village were dissolved and the 5,500 villagers were wholly governed by Amherst town government.

But The News also has looked back at historical tax data to better quantify the town-village disparity with real numbers.

The Garrigans pay more in taxes and fees than a comparable nonvillage property up the street at 372 Reist. The two homes were valued within $5,000 of each other for most of the past decade, with the village home typically worth less.

Yet most years, the village property owner paid $200 to $400 more in county, town and village taxes and sewer fees. Throw in an average household water-usage bill for the two properties, and the disparity grows by more than another $100.

The disparity was most stark in 2008, when the Garrigan house was assessed at $145,000, and the house at 372 Reist was assessed at $148,000. Assuming average household water and sewer usage, the Garrigans paid $567 more in taxes and fees than the house up the street.

The News' figures exclude school taxes since both houses are located in the Williamsville School District. The numbers also were calculated to reflect equivalent water-sewer usage and compare "true tax" figures that don't include tax exemptions.

The tax disparity matters to village residents like Chris Storfer.

"I lived in Eggertsville and Snyder for 22 years before I moved here, and I don't get anything more here," said the seven-year village resident. "Most of my neighbors, they've been here forever, and they have the signs in their yard. They'll hate me for saying that I don't feel like I'm getting more here, but that's the way I feel."

For others, financial town-village comparisons carry little weight.

Melissa Veronica, who moved to Williamsville from New York City four years ago with her husband, said she doesn't think twice about paying her tax bill each year to guarantee her village services and protect the sense of community.

"The fact that we only pay only about $500 more," she said, "that's totally worth it."

Explanation of The News' tax comparison.

stan@buffnews.comnull