Hearing set on Batavia merger
BATAVIA—A second public hearing on a proposal to merge the City of Batavia and the Town of Batavia that surrounds it will be held Tuesday, with early indications that town residents “are not ready to take on the city’s problems.”
The hearing at 7 p. m. in Batavia High School will be the second since a seven-member study committee, assisted by a Rochester research firm and financed by a state grant, released its conclusions.
The committee has two city officials, one resident, three leaders of Genesee County organizations and one town official.
After months of study, the committee offered a three-tier operation that would merge some services, including savings in administration, and trigger nearly $1 million in annual state aid.
Town residents with no real property tax were assured they would not assume the city’s $10 per $1,000 of assessed valuation levy, nor would they be responsible for the city’s debt.
However, Town Supervisor Gregory H. Post has admitted that many town residents are skeptical that a prosperous town should take on a city with problems of a declining population and expensive services, especially for fire protection.
City Council President Charles L. Mallow Jr. is quoted as saying: “I feel really positive about consolidation. It’s a good path for one Batavia.”
First Ward Councilman William E. Cox doesn’t agree. In a published Letter to the Editor he counters that “the consolidation report fails to address the larger issues of real savings.” He claimed that there is “insufficient information to determine if consolidation makes sense for the taxpayers.”
Mallow told reporters that the merger was never intended to include police and fire departments or water and sewer districts. The city spends over $3 million a year for its Fire Department; the town has volunteers for fires and other emergencies. City residents are paying increasingly higher fees for water and sewer, while the town has several districts where only those receiving the service are taxed.
The proposal must be approved by the City Council and Town Board and receive majority support in both jurisdictions. If voters in either say no, the plan fails.
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