“Model government” and “Western New York” are two phrases that rarely are used together, but a recent USA Today analysis found that Buffalo-Niagara residents have helped start a trend on government that’s spreading.
The newspaper examined the downsizing trend that’s been led in this region by Buffalo lawyer Kevin Gaughan. While the Tonawanda Town Board downsized on its own several years ago, Gaughan convinced voters in Orchard Park, Alden, Hamburg and West Seneca to trim two council seats from their town boards; Niagara County voters also cut four county legislator seats from that 19-seat body.
“So far, the downsizing movement is confined mostly to Western New York, but it’s part of a national wave of frustration over big government that was illustrated this year by raucous town-hall-style meetings over health care and the rise of the Tea Party movement,” said the paper, which cited towns in Massachusetts that are considering similar moves. “Unlike those movements, downsizing is a proven hit at the ballot box.”
Gaughan told the paper that, while cutting board members doesn’t save much money, downsizing makes citizens feel as though they have some control. While continuing to encourage the trimming of town boards, Gaughan also wants to see entire villages — and their swollen tax bases — dissolved.
Quick to quash the notion by detractors that giving as few as three councilmen control over a town will bring harm, Gaughan said something drastic needs to happen here for revitalization to occur. A longtime proponent of regionalization, he sees downsizing as the first step toward bigger things.
“Gaughan described Western New York’s losses — almost 300,000 residents since 1970, more than 56,000 jobs since 1990 — and said: ‘We must innovate and experiment. We can save some money, and if we do, we’ll feel good about ourselves. That’s what this is all about,’ ” the paper said.
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A national publication recently named the Town of Tonawanda as one of America’s 10 best places to raise a family.
Business Week’s fourth annual list put Tonawanda at No. 7, citing the quality and size of the Ken-Ton School District (which operates 13 schools).
The list took into account safety, test scores, air quality, affordability, job growth and cultural amenities. Topping the list was Tinley Park, Ill., which is near Chicago, and the Los Angeles suburb of Arcadia, Calif.
•••
Another national publication tapped Western New York recently, as well, this time putting the region among the nation’s best real estate markets.
The MSN Real Estate list, which compiled the 10 most-livable bargain markets, had Buffalo-Niagara at No. 2, trailing only Des Moines, Iowa. The publication cited the region’s historic and cultural offerings, as well as a mass transit system that’s good for an area of this size.
Contact Paul Laneat 693-1000, ext. 116.
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