Town Taxes & Village Dissolution > Fairport Village
What's wrong with this picture?
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Michael Caswell:
I was browsing over the Fairport Village boundary map and noticed this little strip of land poking right into the perimeter of the village.
It's really odd, 10 or 11 properties are exempt from paying village taxes, yet properties on the other side of Manor Hill Drive are paying.
What is going on here? How are these houses not being taxed? There must be a fairly logical answer to this, or one has to suggest something was 'tweaked' for whatever reason.
Doug K:
Mike has a point, and you can read more about how a NYS Village Boundary Line can make all the difference here
https://ecna.createaforum.com/village-and-town-taxes/is-it-time-for-some-local-village-residents-to-start-a-secession-movement/msg2036/#msg2036
And if you look at the ENTIRE VILLAGE MAP of Fairport you see a few anomalies, Village lines drawn SPECIFICALLY to include ONE home. or to add a new housing tract to the Village Tax Roll. In some cases it appears that residents SHOULD have been included in the Village lines but were conveniently left out, to pay only TWO tax bills every year. In any case the map has is filled with "question marks and red flags".
FYI: In NYS, most Village residents will have to pay THREE annual tax bills. One is for that redundant local government... run by a "mayor".. not a Town Supervisor. Another tax bill is paid to their Town & County in February, The third Tax bill is due each September in NY State, to pay for schools.
And like Brockport Village, that was discussed in the Forum Post linked below... the Northeast Corner of Fairport should raise some eyebrows. Look at how the lines seem to penalize one poor homeowner, who got stuck within the Village Line
Read about Brockport Village Secession Here, and how local Canal Village Boundaries need to be UPDATED:
https://ecna.createaforum.com/village-and-town-taxes/is-it-time-for-some-local-village-residents-to-start-a-secession-movement/?message=2038
Maybe WORSE than the NE corners of these two canal villages is the weirdly shaped CURRENT southern boundary of Fairport. It purposely divided one Street, either side, with one being in the Town, the other in the Village.
Why? Well that's the question Mike Caswell asked.
And look at the whole border, it's obvious that this seems driven by tax revenue, or maybe insuring that some in the Town don't get "stuck" with a Village Tax Bill for some reason, while their neighbors around them foot that bill.
So what should Fairport Resident do you ask?
Start by making your VILLAGE GOVERNMENT more accountable. Ask them why they are needed... start there.
And then start the process to MINIMIZE the footprint of the Village of Fairport where possible.
The BEST thing would be to VOTE for a Village Dissolution or if some aspects of the Village are needed (for NYS Canal support) then CONSOLIDATE the best parts of the Village into the Town Government. In the end all of the Town will be taxed the same, and the Village services will all be moved to the Town, as needed.
It's a SIMPLE process, and supported by NYS Lawmakers, but your local Village Mayor won't agree... it's a power / survival thing I'm sure.
Village Residents can start a Petition Signature process, to get a Village Referendum up for VOTE by the People, for the people. People sign petitions, they get submitted to the Village, and those ideas, improvements will get put up for a Village Vote. That how government by the people, for the people works.
The Village Boundary Referendum would be to "right-size" Fairport Village for the 21st century, and change the Village Boundaries to reduce the size of the Village itself. Then the Village Government can reduce their cost to support and maintain that smaller footprint. And if they can't, it may be time for the Village to consider using the Government Reduction Act process to combine their talents with the Town.
And the new Fairport Village Boundary would also mean that some current village residents will pay NO MORE VILLAGE tax, while increasing their Tax Rate for their Town/County bill slightly. That increase will be offset by the huge savings they get from NOT being trapped into Village Tax Payments because of how a "red line" was drawn 150 years ago.
And for those who still live within the Fairport Village Boundary, life continues as it has for the past century or so, just the way the Local Village Leaders like it.
Here's an idea of where Fairport Village Boundaries should be drawn, based on what service they provide, for the majority of the Village Residents. Like most Canal Villages your location to the CENTER of the action means you get MORE service from the Village.
And all of the area outlined on the map below would secede from the Village of Fairport (and it's tax burden) and be added to the Town of Perinton Property, Town Tax Rolls, and all services needed would simply move to the Town and it's employees.
All of this is possible... under the watchful eye of the Perinton Town Government that you already pay for... why pay for TWO governments in the same Town. Even worse, two governments that don't get along most times and don't see "eye to eye" on what's really best for the public they serve.
Otherwise, one of those local governments is supposed to be creating ways to dissolve their tax burden on NY, not add to it, like the Village of Fairport just did with the stroke of a pen, and a quick vote called for by the Mayor of Fairport just last week.
It's time to END REDUNDANT GOVERNMENT IN NY STATE.
So once again an Erie Canal Village, and it's residents are faced with a decision. They will have to decide which side of the line they want to be on... for a new Fairport Village boundary. All we can say at the ECNA is to choose wisely.
Doug K:
To be PERFECTLY CLEAR about the Fairport Village Boundary Change Proposition...
The map below shows the smaller village footprint, and ALL properties SOUTH of Route 31 (currently part of the village) would be moved under the jurisdiction of the Town of Perinton to manage.
And all those homeowners would also STOP paying Fairport Village Taxes
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