Comments regarding the Budget Inn in Falconer were brought up during Monday’s meeting of the Falconer Village Board. The mayor and fire chief said the fire department has responded to the East Main Street hotel often in the last month for a variety of EMS calls. P-J photo by Katrina Fuller

FALCONER — Issues at a local hotel are taxing volunteer emergency services in the area, Falconer Mayor James Rensel said.

Rensel discussed concerns regarding the Budget Inn after Monday’s meeting of the Falconer Village Board in an interview with The Post-Journal. Rensel said emergency medical services have been needed often at the hotel, located at 214 E. Main St., which puts a drain on the volunteer firefighters and other emergency service members.

“You have to be compassionate about people’s positions in life,” he said. “But it’s taxing our volunteer capital.”

Rensel said at times there have been 15 calls a week to the hotel.

Charles Piazza, chief of the Falconer Fire Department, said there has been an increase in the number of responses to the Budget Inn within the last month. He said it’s not uncommon for fire departments to respond often to locations that houses many people for EMS.

But a spike in requests do “tax the EMS programs,” Rensel said, noting that people who are just getting out of prison or who are on parole are directed to stay at the hotel because of the price.

Amy Hunzinger, manager of the Budget Inn, said while there has been police presence at the hotel, it isn’t necessarily for bad reasons. Rather, Hunzinger said she has “cleaned house” since she began as manager in November.

“If I find drugs, I throw them out,” she said. “Sometimes, I do have to call the police (to do that).”

While there was a problem with drugs in the facility previously, Hunzinger said that is no longer the case.

Hunzinger said if individuals don’t come and see what is going on at the hotel, it is natural for accusations to be made. She said there is a rumor going around that the facility is “roach and bed bug infested,” but she said it is not.

Likewise, Hunzinger said she has never had an issue with a “parolee.”

“We have families with children here,” she said. “It’s not just for bad people.”

In January, a Falconer man was jailed after methamphetamine and needles were found in a room at the hotel. The drugs and paraphernalia were found by members of the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, Ellicott police, state police and Jamestown SWAT Team.

Ryan L. Percey was charged in the incident with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminal using drug paraphernalia, criminal using a hypodermic instrument and endangering the welfare of a child.

In other news, the Falconer Village Board approved its 2018-19 budget Monday. Larry Trask, village treasurer, said the revenues are slated at $1,378,253 and appropriations at $1,420,756. He said the village is anticipating using $42,503 of unassigned fund balance at this time.

“The big hitter is the legal fees and other expenses associated with upcoming downtown development,” Trask said.

He said those costs are “driving the budget increase.”

Trask said this year’s property tax bill will show an increase of 27 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, but because the village has not raised taxes in four years, the tax rate is still below the property tax cap of 2 percent. With the increase, the tax rate will be $9.02.