Citizens of Depew May Decide to Dissolve Depew All Together

Literally just getting rid of a Western New York village is an idea that some people in Depew are having lately. This isn't the first time that this idea has come up, but the issue may have to find an answer during a vote later this year.

New York State will require 5,000 signatures on a petition to continue on to a vote. The citizens argue that if the village was separated into the towns of Lancaster and Cheektowaga, the taxpayers would save money, noting that debt has gone out of control since 2003.

According to Time Warner:

Village Mayor Jesse Nikonowicz agrees that residents do pay quite a bit for village services, he's drawing the line at dissolving Depew in the name of saving money. Nikonowicz says, if the village dissolves, the quality of the services those residents are paying for will decrease. "You won't have the kind of police service you have right now. Response times currently are approximately two minutes, they could go as high as 15 minutes to an hour from the towns because they have certain prioritized areas they have to deal with," said Nikonowicz.

If it came to dissolving Depew into Lancaster and Cheektowaga, Lancaster Supervisor Johanna M. Coleman remained neutral. “If they decide to dissolve, we would take on providing services. It would be work to afford the transition, but we are here to serve the public", according to The News.