News

October 17, 2012

Painted Post (WENY) - Neighbors in Painted Post are taking a stand to stop their village from disappearing off the map. A group of Painted Post residents are petitioning to dissolve their village into the Town of Erwin. But a group calling themselves the "Save the post" met for the first time tonight to try and stop the dissolution. The committee wants to inform the 900 voters in the village so when a referendum is held people can make an informed decision. The problem started when petitioners in favor of dissolving the village of painted post into the Town of Erwin got 400 signatures by presenting information that was outdated from 2010. That information stated village residents could save 44 percent on their taxes, but that isn't accurate. Now residents who didn't sign the petition are trying to inform voters of the real numbers and what people living in painted post stand to lose if the village dissolves. Tom Pierri is a business owner and lives in the village.

     “I don't want to merge I don't want to dissolve the village I do not want to merge with Erwin,” says Pierri.

     The taxes on his business went down more than $1,000 over the past three years, and he still gets the services he needs.

     “I'm getting our trash picked up we're getting our sidewalks plowed, we're getting our roads kept clean they are doing small things everyday to keep our village in good shape. And if we merge with Erwin I know we're going to lose the PDW and the DPW and probably the fire department too.”

   The group plans to hold fundraisers at Tom's restaurant, make signs and use ads in the paper to get their message out. In the end its about keeping a community together, and on the map.

     “There is a value living in a village and it is more than the taxes you pay. The former mayor Sandy Franklin made an impassioned speech to the committee. He said it's about the sense of community and is what you get in return for those taxes,” says Franklin.

     A date for a vote hasn't been decided yet. An interesting fact; the state does offer a dissolution study, but only after a village votes.