by Katherine Knotts
News Correspondent

     The Village of Perrysburg held the first in a series of public meetings on Sept. 3 on the dissolution study being conducted by CGR.

     The well-attended meeting opened with Mayor Anthony Kota offering some back­ground information on what led to the study and what will be gained through the study.

     Mayor Kota stated that the board “wants to find the most efficient way to run our government.” This was in part a response to the petition presented to the board months ago that, while not containing enough signatures to force any action, did indicate the residents’ desire to see the issue pursued. He went onto explain that by hiring CGR, an unbiased study will be conducted to achieve this goal.

     The village board chose to have a dissolution plan formed as part of the study to enable them to be prepared, should they decide to put the issue to referendum in March of 2010.

     Kota then introduced Scott Sittig of CUR,who gave an overview of the work his company would be doing over the next few months.

     Sittig explained that the purpose of the study is to look at layers of government for opportunities for shared services, merged services or elimination of a layer of government. He went on to describe two phases that the study would go through.

     The first phase involves the gathering of data to gain an understanding of the operations of the village and town to ultimately create a base line, with possibilities to present to the dissolution study committee. Information will be gathered through various ways, including interviewing local government officials and employees, looking at village records, and getting feedback from the community through public meetings and some type of survey. All meetings of the dissolution study committee are open to the public, and the next public meeting wIll be held on Oct. 29.

     The next phase involves the creation of a dissolution plan, which is guided by New York State Article 19. Article 19 outlines the components of the plan as required by state law on villages.

     This will be wrapped into a feasibility study to be presented to the Perrysburg Village Board in December. The board then decides if the issue will go to a referendum to the registered voters of the Village of Perrysburg. Should the board decide to put the issue, to referendum, then a series of public hearings are required by New York State law.

     Sittig told the audience that his company has performed around 20 of these studies through­out New York State. As the project manager, Sittig,will be the most direct contact throughout the project, but Charles Zettek Jr., the project advisor, will also be visiting Perrysburg through the course of the study.

     A Web site has been established at www.cgr.org/perrysburg where residents can reference information or ask questions.

     Some discussion took place as to the best method to survey residents. Sittig explained that although phone surveys have been very effective in other studies performed by CGR, the dissolution committee is considering alternatives as the phone study may not be the most effective way to reach the residents of Perrysburg. The purpose of the survey is to gain insight into the perceptions of the village and town residents as to the services provided by their local governing body. One option suggested was a written questionnaire sent through the mail.

     A resident asked if the town residents have a voice in this issue In response, Sittig said that both village and town residents can offer input and opinions, but the decision as to whether the issue goes to referendum is up to the village board and the final vote on the issue will be by registered village voters only. Kota added that he wanted to encourage all residents to participate so that the decisions would reflect input from both the village and town.

     The impact of the flood on the study is unsure as of yet and will be impacted by the final figures for repairs and FEMA assistance.

     Kota explained that with the population having decreased to 380 residents, an area of concern is trying to find enough people to hold positions on boards for the village (i.e. - planning and zoning boards).

     Former town supervisor Myrton Sprague stated that an important goal would be to keep everything fair, that those receiving services would be the ones to pay for the services, such as the sewers, street lighting and sidewalk plowing.

     Sittig said that much baseline information would be ready by the Sept. 24 meeting of the dissolution study committee to gain a clearer idea on some of these issues.

     The next public meeting on Oct. 29 will see more study information on the monetary issues involved and the possible impact on the community.