Wording for June 21 referendum on village court may confuse voters

By Russ Tarby

Contributing Writer

At its May 16 meeting, the Village Board of Trustees presented a letter to village residents to explain “why we are considering dissolving the [Liverpool Village] Justice Court.”

At its April 14 meeting, the trustees voted 3-1 to abolish the office of Liverpool justice and the village court, effective when Judge Anthony LaValle’s current term ends on July 4.

Last month, Liverpool Mayor Gary White appointed a fact-finding committee, which met May 4 to study possibility of consolidating the village court with the Salina Town Court, which has two judges. On May 9, the trustees called for a mandatory referendum allowing village voters to decide the issue on June 21.

Last week, the trustees approved a rewritten proposition to be presented to village voters. The proposition was trimmed from eight lines to two lines, but it still asks voters whether or not they approve of the board’s April 14 decision to abolish the court. That means that voters who favor the continued existence of the village court would have to vote “No.”

Accusing the trustees of “pulling a fast one,” LaValle pleaded with them to reword the proposition, “Do you want a village court — yes or no?” But the trustees approved the proposition as submitted by the village attorney.

Trustee Nick Kochan, who was a member of the fact-finding committee, summarized the letter of explanation. The abolition of the court could strengthen to village’s long-term financial position, he said.

“For an annual saving of $30,000 to $50,000 a year,” the letter stated, “the village could, for example, buy a village police car or make a bond payment on a $2 million infrastructure project.”

Three dozen people attended May 16’s often-fractious meeting, and several expressed dissatisfaction with the board’s effort to abolish the court.

“I feel that we got shafted,” said Bradley Young, a resident of Tamarack Street. As to the possible consolidation with the Salina Town Court, Young said, “Salina is one of the busiest courts in the county, and from what I’ve read they don’t want it.”

LaValle disagreed with the trustees’ contention that the court costs too much and has been losing money. In fact, the letter of explanation contained a graph showing that village court revenues had increased over the past two years. After recording revenues of $42,866 in 2013 and $46,500 in 2014, the court received revenues of $73,118 in 2015 and will make an estimated $62,000 this year.

“We’re running efficiently and providing good service,” LaValle said. Whenever revenues lag, the judge said, “it’s because the police are writing fewer tickets.”

LaValle’s brother, Tom LaValle, a prominent village landlord, mocked the fact-finding committee by calling it “the after-the-fact-finding committee.”

Richard “Ace” Ward, a former Salina town supervisor and a member of the fact-finding committee, seemed to agree with Tom LaValle.

“We really need to look at this proposal before a decision is made,” Ward said. “In this case, the trustees approved the abolition of the court and then appointed a committee to examine the pros and cons.”

Ward worried aloud that the proposal could be a first step toward an eventual dissolution of the village itself. The trustees have admitted that they were influenced by recent arguments put for by the countywide Consensus committee in favor of consolidation of government services.

Spectators broke into applause when Judge LaValle criticized the trustees. “They did it behind closed doors,” he said. “We can’t let that continue. Something’s got to change.”

April police stats

Liverpool Police Chief Don Morris informed the village board at its May 16 meeting that officers issued 140 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws in April, after making a total of 181 traffic stops. Thirteen traffic accidents were investigated that month, and 14 parking tickets were issued.

Officers conducted 162 residential checks during April and responded to a total of 414 complaints and calls for service.

The LPD arrested 14 individuals last month on a total of 22 criminal charges.

On June 2, Chief Morris will travel to Albany when his department will official be re-accredited by the state’s Division of Criminal Justice Services.

Accreditation helps police agencies evaluate and improve their overall performance, according to the state agency’s website. It provides formal recognition that an organization meets or exceeds general expectations of quality in the field.