Additional considerations

The Town Council has repeatedly requested that the Village provide municipal water and sewer service outside village boundaries.  The village has repeatedly refused to do so.  Why?

1) It is not fair to existing businesses within the village, as discussed on a previous page.

There are some additional reasons, described below.

2) NY State law requires that water and sewer services be operated in a "non-profit" manner.  Revenues from water and sewer service can not be transferred into other village accounts.  Thus, when the Town Council suggest that the village could charge outside users double for w/s, and thereby make money, they are ignoring the limitations of NYS law.  The fact is, the village can not use revenue from w/s services to reduce property taxes.  We could use it to reduce w/s bills, but not by much, because as we sell additional water and treat more sewerage, our expenses increase in proportion. The bottom line is that a village is not a typical business; it can not sell a service at any price it can get and then do whatever it wants with the income.  We are highly constrained by NYS laws.

3) Village law is clear.  Water and sewer service will not be provided outside village boundaries.  The Town Council has said, accurately, that the village made this law, and the village can change it.  However, the Town Council then requests that the village provide w/s to a particular developer, for example, to the proposed apartment developer.  But the village can not do this. We are not an ordinary business that can pick and choose our customers. The village can not make exceptions to its laws for particular individuals or companies.  Village laws must apply uniformly to everyone. The Council is asking the village to do something that is impossible and unfair.  To provide w/s service for one development, we would have to change our law, and change it in a way that was fair and uniform for every individual and company.  The net result would be that w/s would become available to all properties on the periphery of the village boundary.  The Town Council's request to provide w/s to a single development is simply untenable.