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Falconer Turns Out To Protest BPU Annexation

Tyler Stimson, Falconer Volunteer Fire Department member, speaking against the proposed annexation of the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Dow Street Substation from the village of Falconer and town of Ellicott into the city of Jamestown.

FALCONER — The proposal to annex the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities substation from the village of Falconer and town of Ellicott into the city of Jamestown was not met favorably by those who attended the public hearing Monday at Falconer Middle/High School.

All 29 audience members who spoke during the public hearing were against the proposal. The audience members included residents from several municipalities, including the city of Jamestown, village of Falconer and town of Ellicott. The majority of comments made during the public hearing focused on two points.

One point being that the proposal will negatively impact the town of Ellicott, the village of Falconer and the Falconer Central School District while helping the city of Jamestown and the Jamestown Public Schools.

If the annexation does occur, a total of $325,000 in property taxes the BPU currently pays the town, village, Chautauqua County and Falconer Central School District would no longer be paid. The Falconer Central School District would take the biggest hit, losing $154,000 in tax revenue, with the village losing roughly $69,000 and the town $33,000. Chautauqua County would lose around $69,000 in property tax revenue as well.

If the annexation happens, the BPU would save around $167,000 in property taxes because it would still need to make tax equivalent payments of around $79,000 to both the city and the Jamestown Public Schools.

“When your revenue sources come from our revenue sources that is not what neighbors do,” said Stephen Penhollow, Falconer Central School superintendent.

The second point audience speakers focused on were the comments made by Kathleen Bennett of Bond, Schoeneck & King, the attorney who is handling the annexation process for the BPU. During a presentation prior to open comments from the public, Bennett said one of the reasons the BPU and city officials want the annexation is to have services for the substation provided by Jamestown municipal employees, which includes the Jamestown Fire Department. Bennett said Jamestown’s professional fire department can provide a quicker reaction time than the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department because they have personnel at a majority of their stations around the clock. Also, the paid firefighters for the city are held to a higher standard of certification than the volunteers for the village.

These comments about the village’s volunteer department drew outburst from the crowd and from several of the audience speakers.

“It was an insult when you said Jamestown is on call 24/7 and volunteers aren’t” said Charles Piazza, Falconer Volunteer Fire Department chief.

Tyler Stimson, Falconer Volunteer Fire Department member, said the department’s volunteers are more than qualified to cover the substation during an emergency.

“It is very serious hit to our budget here in the village of Falconer,” Stimson said about the proposed annexation.

Jamestown resident Chris Gardner called the comments made by Bennett about the Falconer Volunteer Fire Department a “lowball” moment. Todd Beckerink, Falconer Central School Board president, said, as a law enforcement official, public safety officers respond no matter where the emergency takes place. Several times during the evening, it was pointed out by village and town officials how often they have responded to emergency calls in the city of Jamestown, which includes the rash of arson fires that plagued the Jamestown and Falconer area between March 2 and March 25.

In order for the annexation to move forward, a public hearing was required to take place to allow residents who would be affected to have an opportunity to share their thoughts on the matter. Officials in Falconer and Ellicott, along with the Falconer School District, have made it known their opposition to the annexation.

Residents in all three municipalities will not have a direct say on the annexation, as it will not be put up for a public referendum. Instead, all three government boards will have to act within 90 days of the public hearing and vote for or against the annexation. It’s expected both Ellicott and Falconer will vote against it, which means the matter would then have to be decided by the state appellate court.

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