By Kate Hill
Staff Writer
On Jan. 11, the Cazenovia Town Board adopted an anti-racism coalition policy.
According to the adopted resolution, the Anti-Racism Coalition of Cazenovia (ARC-C) presented the town with a suggested anti-racism statement and urged the board to adopt it.
“The Town of Cazenovia is a welcoming and inclusive community,” the board’s final policy states. “We recognize the responsibility and rights of community members to respect the personhood of all individuals to live their lives with dignity, free of discrimination based on faith, race, sexuality, gender identity, national origin or immigration status. We therefore renounce hatred and intolerance, including but not limited to: racism, misogyny, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, homophobia and transphobia. We commit ourselves, as a town, to respect the diversity represented within our community and to be good neighbors to all.”
The ARC-C was formed in May 2020 in the wake of George Floyd’s death. The group’s mission is to create a more inclusive community that actively supports residents of color, and to educate the community about systemic racism.
For more information, visit facebook.com/arccazenovia.
In other news
The board voted to approve a renewal agreement for Spectrum Northeast, LLC’s cable television franchise for 10 years.
“We can only negotiate certain things,” said Town Attorney John Langey. “In this particular agreement we can and we did negotiate a maximum franchise fee, which gets applied back to the town and helps attempt to do something to reduce your taxes — I don’t know if you would see it in your tax bill because it is a fairly small amount in comparison. We negotiated some other favorable terms for the town, but we don’t really have a say in the pricing of the product that Spectrum and these other companies provide.”
The Cazenovia Town Board typically meets the second Monday of every month at 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit towncazenovia.digitaltowpath.org or call the town office at 315-655-9213.
A draft of the Village of Cazenovia’s Police Reform Plan can be accessed on the village website at villageofcazenovia.com.
Public comment on the plan is encouraged and can be submitted via a Google survey link, by mail to Village of Cazenovia Police Commissioner, 90 Albany St, Cazenovia, NY 13035, or by email to [email protected].
Input will be sought until Jan. 22.
The Village of Cazenovia Board of Trustees will also conduct a public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. to receive additional input.
