To the editor:

As we get closer to Election Day on March 21, one thing holds true above all else: The importance of casting your vote. Because no matter who you support to be our next mayor, every vote matters.

According to the Onondga County Board of Elections, the village of Manlius has 3,210 registered voters. But consider this: In 2015, only 515 of those eligible to vote turned out to cast a ballot in the Village of Manlius Fire Facility Referendum. 

As a consequence, a razor-thin margin of 23 votes put every taxpayer in the Manlius Fire Protection Area $11 million in debt for the next 30 years.

The impact every vote can have on the long-range “fiscal fitness” of the village of Manlius is very much real. In 2012, our village tax rate was $7.38 per assessed thousand. Since then, our village tax rate has steadily increased to $7.95 and that does not include payment on the $11 million new fire house debt. Those 23 votes are about to put an additional strain on family budget bottom lines for the next 30 years. So don’t ever believe your vote doesn’t matter or doesn’t make a difference.

On March 21, 3,210 registered village voters have a chance to take back control from the special interests of our village fire department, take back control from the unsustainable spending of our village government and, finally, take back control from the status quo inertia of our village elected officials.

I respectfully ask for your continued help and support as well as your vote for mayor on March 21. Together, we can take back control of our village. Together, we can achieve anything we set out to accomplish. Together, we can make Manlius strong. Because every vote matters. 

Mark-Paul Serafin

Manlius