MEDINA, N.Y. (WKBW) — A new village budget was passed in Medina, increasing the tax rate by just $0.03 (0.02%), but that small jump was at the expense of many village services, including police and fire.
Medina Mayor Marguerite Sherman tells me there were no layoffs; however, she tells me the following changes were made:
- Did not renew the contract with the Medina Central School District to provide SROs
- Eliminated the K9 police officer program
- The number of firefighters will shrink from 21 to 17 through attrition
- DPW will have an open position left unfilled
Sherman: “Every department was hit a little bit… In our police department, this is probably what riled the community the most…. In the end, we came together to make the best decision we could to benefit our taxpayers.”
Q: Your options were to cut services or raise taxes. Why did you decide to cut rather than just raise taxes?
Sherman: “Because our taxes have been going up… and we need to rein it in.”
Sherman tells me the police officers impacted by that change will still be part of the force and will be transitioning back to the ‘normal’ rotation.
I reached out to Village police chief Todd Draper. He declined to speak on camera, but sent me the following statement:
"The Medina Police Department is sad to see our involvement in these programs come to an end. We greatly value the relationships these programs have helped our Department build with the Medina Central School District and the public through the years. We'd like to recognize the work of our current and previous SRO's and K-9 officers for their outstanding performance."
As for the school, this letter was sent to district parents:
It reads in part: “The Medina Central School District remains unwavering in its commitment to maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for all students… In light of the Village's decision, the District is actively exploring a range of options to fill the gap left by the absence of SROs.”
“We knew the school district would still provide SROs for our students, so it wasn’t as if a program was being eliminated,” Sherman said. “They just weren’t going to be able to contract with the village for it.”
