What Is East Rochester Getting for Its Tax Money?
You’ve probably heard by now that East Rochester has really high taxes. But how high? Thanks to the local taxes database in the D&C’s excellent “RocDocs” site, I was able to compare apples to apples and come up with this chart:
See that long red bar on the right? You got it — that’s East Rochester. Whoa.
Now, being a proud progressive, I realize that taxes are our investment in a better quality of life for everyone, now and for our kids. So I’m not scared of higher taxes the way some folks are. But I do believe in getting value for your money.
Based on this chart, East Rochester should be the freaking Beverly Hills 90210 of Monroe County. Instead many residents who’ve lived there for years consider it a dying town. I’ve heard people call it “the armpit of Monroe County”. A great shame for such a diamond in the rough, with so many good people. They deserve better, and both elected and appointed officials need to do the right thing by them.
This raises a lot of legitimate questions:
- Are the people who’ve “been proud to work for the village for years” the right people to be in charge, if ER is in this bad shape despite the high taxes?
- Why were the majority of the screamers at that emergency ER board meeting 2 weeks ago either village appointees or their close relatives?
- What would folks say if they could come forward publicly without fear of retribution?
- Why is there money to apparently pay off the mayor’s brother $10,000, but no money for playground equipment for kids?
It’ll be interesting to see what the entrenched GOP pulls at tonight’s meeting. Will they continue to try to manage the message, by staging another scream-fest? Will they make Koon’s press releases “disappear” only to have them re-appear after the press leaves, like they did last time? Will they pull parliamentary tricks, like at the County Leg, to stop progress in its tracks?
Stay tuned…
I can tell you a few things we’re getting for our money, two prostitues approching my buddy in his car in broad daylight ( 1 o’clock PM) stopped at an interesection for a traffic light to offer thier services the Thursday after Christmas and a major intersection in town. My neighbor two houses down ( she lives with her mother and three kids next to a rental where a renter on probation from the city of Rochester for drug violations has been selling drugs since last April) returned from grocery shopping with her kids during the day last Saturday to find a crack pipe, crack cocaine and two licence plates from what turned out to be a stolen car lying in her front yard. We also got my next door neighbor abandoning her home of 14 years in November because she could no longer pay her property taxes. Oh yeah and a board that says its not happening or all fine. Money well spent yeah?
I too have been wondering why, with our very own police force, we, in a mile square village, should have such a drug problem. I hear people talking about it, witnessing it, knowing where the drug houses are…so, uh, just where are the police? I know citizens make the calls so why are the druggies still operating? Are they too “connected” and so they are left alone? I can’t help but wonder.
[...] meeting. btp had several solid posts that provided factual data about ER - be it their excessive taxes (highest in Monroe County) and credit to Mayor Koon speaking his voice in public. Here is a readers [...]
[...] to change some of the old guard in the village. The village had been GOP-run for years, has the highest tax rate in the county, and the what appears to be the greatest amount of [...]