Ann Galbraith loves living in the Village of Orchard Park, and does not mind paying village taxes for village services.
Part of Erin Jakubowski’s property is in the village, and the backyard is in the town. She doesn’t see any reason to change.
Both properties are among 130 parcels that would move to the other municipality under a proposal put forth by the village and town. They include 25 that would go from the village to the town, and 105 that would go from the town to the village. Owners have the option to opt out of annexation.
The changes were proposed to streamline village and town services – such as garbage and recycling, water, plowing and road upkeep, brush and leaf collection and code enforcement – according to a presentation during a public hearing earlier this month.
Village Mayor Jo Ann Litwin Clinton said the annexation has been in the works since May.
“There are certain properties that are being serviced by the village and residents are not paying any village taxes,” Clinton said. “It’s really not fair to our village taxpayers that people are getting village services.”
She said some properties may be at the end of a dead end street, with part of the street in the village and part in the town.
Residents seek more information
Galbraith, of Stonehenge Drive, said she wants to live in the village, and does not mind paying village taxes on her home at Stonehenge and Foxmeadow Lane. Houses on the other side of Stonehenge would remain in the village.
“I bought a house in the village to live in the village,” she said.
Galbraith likes village services, such as the weekly leaf pickup in the fall, compared to the quarterly pickup by the town.
“It seems like common sense is not prevailing,” she said. “If it made sense, we would be quiet. It doesn’t make sense.”
Elizabeth Bidjov lives on Stonehenge at the corner of Pheasant Lane. She said she does not know what services she would give up if her…
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