Published: January 24, 2007 12:52 pm            

MEDINA COURT ABOLISHED: Would consolidate with town court, some residents push for referendum on March ballot

After an emotional public hearing, the Medina Village Board voted to abolish its Village Court.

More than 50 residents turned out for the hearing to voice their stance for or against the idea of eliminating the court and combining services with the recently consolidated Shelby/Ridgeway Town Court.

But in the end the majority of the board voted to consolidate, citing the move as a way to decrease village expenditures and take a small step toward minimizing government.

“I have confidence in this,” said Trustee James Lustumbo. “I ran on consolidation.”

The decision came after a four-month feasibility study headed by trustees Timothy Cooper and Donald Kennedy, who were appointed in September. Both said transferring the Village Court to the domain of the combined town court would save taxpayers money.

“I have faith in the numbers provided behind the report,” Trustee Adam Tabelski said just before his vote.

Trustees Christine Limina and Owen Toale voted against the abolishment, along with Mayor

Clayton Ehrenreich, who exercised his right to vote on the issue. A mayoral vote is most often utilized only when a decision ends in a tie.

All three said they felt uncomfortable with the report presented by the committee. Ehrenreich said he would have liked to see formal studies conducted, noting that many of the numbers formulated by the committee seemed vague and inaccurate.

“I was disappointed in the process,” Ehrenreich said. “I just think that we should have had an unbiased study done. We did it with the ambulance (study).”

Donald Draper, an outspoken opponent of the court consolidation, and a retired Medina Police Chief and husband of the current Village Court Clerk, Nancy Draper, was one of many who stood up to speak against the idea. He said he will begin attempting to gather enough signatures to petition for a referendum that could be placed on the March ballot in an effort to overturn the board’s resolution.

A petition must have at least 20 percent of those registered to vote in last year’s election in order to create a referendum, Village Attorney Andrew Meier said.

That would equal out to approximately 650 signatures, according to Village Clerk Peg Crowley.

“If the taxpayers want a referendum and they want to vote I’ll be happy to accept how that turns out,” Kennedy said. “But I believe the information and the decision we made was the correct one.”

Many residents in attendance lauded the board’s decision, with opinions ranging from a first move toward more widespread consolidation in local government to a much needed tax-saving measure. Orleans County District Attorney Joseph Cardone gave his backing.

“Clearly the direction of the justice court system is consolidation,” he said.

Contact Michael Regan at (585) 798-1400, Ext. 2226.

        

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