 |
A Main Street shop owner sweeps up the sidewalk near her storefront on a spring afternoon.
Photo by Ove Overmyer, ©2016 |
Guest Essay by Ove Overmyer
Brockport, NY-- As Election Day approaches May 24, I have some thoughts I
want to share with you. First of all, I was born many years ago at Lakeside Memorial
Hospital in Brockport, NY. I am from a very large family and I'm sure most residents who have lived in the area will recognize the family name. I attended High School there and I still have plenty of family and friends who I care deeply about who still call this historic Victorian canal town home.
I mention this only because I want to squash any impression that
I don’t have a horse in this race— in fact, I do and so do you no matter where
you call home. Anytime there is a threat to one’s quality of life, folks need
to speak up and take a stand for each other. This is because it’s not just a fight for
Brockport residents to keep their village whole-- this is about something much bigger. It’s a threat and attack on the existence of government itself. Government is a positive social and civil contract that attempts to improve people's lives and hold everyone accountable. Government gets a bad rap and I'm here to defend it.
By virtue of full disclosure, I must also state that I work
for a union who represents the DPW workers who are employed by the Village of
Brockport. That being said, this makes my resolve all the more meaningful.
I personally consider putting a vote to village dissolution
an act that threatens our personal safety and risks our financial security— and it will
inevitably diminish everyone’s way of life. While I know some people think local
governments are dysfunctional, I respectfully disagree. After careful
consideration of the facts and circumstances surrounding this particular village
dissolution vote in Brockport, I’m pretty sure you will come to same conclusion
that I did. The residents of the Village of Brockport, a high-profile SUNY college
town at that, will have a better quality of life and a more efficient delivery of services if they vote NO on May 24.
Dissolution is devoid of any civic meaning
If you believe the dissolution argument, the conservative
and libertarian arguments, then you probably believe Americans are cast as
victims of a vast corrupt system. As the narrative goes, we are just taxpayers
bearing up under the obligation to pay into federal, state and local coffers.
Some are stoic in the face of the inevitability of “death and taxes,”
while others burn with resentment like the old Tea Party folks.
Here is the problem. What is missing from this picture is
any sense of a larger meaning in the act of paying taxes in the first place.
Most other things that require effort and sacrifice-- family, service, charity,
and volunteerism-- have virtuous or at least redeeming value associated with
them. That meaning helps us face life’s collective challenges with a larger
sense of purpose that makes these acts worth the investment.
When we lose sight of this, taxes and government are seen as
merely depriving us of our individual property. If, on the other hand, we see
ourselves as government stewards of common good, as citizen managers of public
systems and structures that secure the village, city, state and country we live
in, then taxes are our contribution to something bigger than our individual
selves.
The stories we hear about government dissolution and paying
less tax reflect a chronic disconnection from our role as citizens; they are
devoid of any civic meaning. The real meaning of local government and taxes
pays for the things that underpin our public life and connect us to one another
through our villages, our communities, our states and our country. The fact
remains, no one can predict what will happen if the village dissolves. Your taxes might even go up. Every
village dissolution process is different—and yields unintended consequences
every time. To compare other jurisdictions that have dissolved to what might happen in Brockport is like comparing apples to oranges.
Three words motivate the dissolution movement: power, profit and greed.
First of all, there are many national right-wing think tanks that provide tool kits and playbooks for dissolutionists to use as reference. The fundamental question is, does such an extreme "outsider" ideology have a place in determining your future when it comes to delivering vital village public services? Only you the voter can answer that question.
It should be important for everyone to know what motivates
the few families who are pushing this dissolution vote in Brockport— and someone needs to openly shed a
light on what’s really going on here. It’s no secret the dissolutionists inordinately
own most of the real estate rental property in the village and want to stick
their bony finger in the eye of village government. After all, village officials are
the only stop-gap measure in preserving your property values and the historic
landmarks that dot each village street.
The landlords selfishly think eliminating village
government, code enforcement and public safety officers will remove
all barriers yielding an increase in their business profit margin— all at your expense. This is really about greed folks—plain and simple. Is this the way a civil community responds to such critical issues of the day? Voting to dissolve their village? I think not. As it is, this landlord group
continues to badmouth those who politely disagree with them and thumb their nose at their neighbors while at the same time, they decimate the housing
stock in one of New York State’s most historically vibrant communities. It
would be a travesty if voters allow them to get away with it.
On Election Day, please remember our local village government
keeps you safe like nobody else can. Your government educates your children.
Your government provides you and your community vital services you cannot do on
your own.
Your government also
creates ladders of opportunity so citizens can create their own personalized
version of the American Dream. I know firsthand how extraordinary local government can be— I worked in a public library system for 18 years and witnessed
how it can transform lives.
We all need to be telling a new and meaningful story about
the positive aspects of government and taxes that celebrate the concrete
opportunity it offers we the people. Please vote NO on May 24.
Webster, N.Y.—On Monday, May 23, CSEA Monroe County Local
828 Executive Board, Local 828 Scholarship Committee hosted the 23nd Annual
Scholarship Awards Dinner at Liberty Lodge at Finn Park, 850 Maple Dr.,
Webster, N.Y. Many members from the Retirees Local 912 also served on the
Scholarship Committee as well.
