Soon To Be TOWN Of Depew?

Despite their high taxes in the Village of Depew, residents this week voted to retain their designation as a village rather than to be absorbed into the towns of Lancaster and Cheektowaga.  But some residents want to go further.  They're pushing for Depew to become a town.

As it stands now, village taxpayers in Depew pay not only village, county and school taxes, they also pay town taxes to Cheektowaga and Lancaster.  Two-thirds of Depew is in the town of Cheektowaga while the other third is in Lancaster.

Although taxes are paid to both Cheektowaga and Lancaster, Depew provides all the typical services to its residents like snow plowing, road repair and garbage collection.  Village residents aren't getting a whole lot of bang for their buck in exchange for their taxes paid to the towns.

By declaring itself a town the village could sever its ties with Cheektowaga and Lancaster, but it won't be easy.  The towns would have to agree to a realignment of their town boundaries and that isn't likely.  The state legislature would also have to approve it.

Attorneys for Depew say they'll address the issue by pointing out they don't receive services in exchange for their tax dollars.  It may be a long fight.