Village Board Welcomes Spring Weather
Village Board Welcomes Spring Weather
Village Park Amenities Open For Use and Other Meeting Notes
The Ellicottville Village Board gathered on Tuesday, May 19th for a joint Public Hearing and their regular monthly meeting. During this special evening, residents were welcomed to oversee the most recent discussions involving the NYS Tax Cap, Village Budget, and Zoning Amendment.
Starting the evening off with some Good News, Mayor Burrell announced that the Cattaraugus County sales tax exceeded the Village’s projections by 7.6%, collecting $164,116.25.
Next, the Village Board opened the Public Hearing and began discussions starting with the NYS Tax Cap. New York State states through their taxation and finance guidelines, “the tax cap law establishes a limit on the annual growth of property taxes levied by local governments and school districts to two percent or the rate of inflation, whichever is less”. In order to adjust the tax cap a municipality must conduct a Public Hearing to make a request to the taxpayers. The Village Board presented a 17% increase which was approved with no objections.
The 2025-2026 budget was additionally discussed and will be available online at www.ellicottvillegov.com. A Village resident inquired about whether there would be any allocated funding for road work and sidewalk repairs. Mayor Burrell answered that while the Village will be providing road and sidewalk maintenance, there are no major projects planned to the extent of the Elizabeth Street Project.
The Village Board was informed of an error that was made in the original creation of Section 11-12, Historic Preservation Appeals, regarding the Zoning Local Law. What they had currently seen was an unbalanced power between the Zoning Board and Planning Board. If an issue was addressed to the Planning Board and a person was unhappy with the outcome, they then would go to the Zoning Board to appeal their case. Both Boards are equal advisory committees, not decision making and one should not hold more importance than the other. During the Public Hearing it was agreed to move forward with the correction to the amendment. The next step is for the review of the amendment by Cattaraugus County under a 30-day hold until it is put into effect.
The Public Hearing then came to a close as the Village Board moved on to their regularly planned monthly meeting.
The Minutes from the April Board meeting were approved and are now made available online. Due to timing, the April and May Financial reports will be further reviewed during next month’s Board meeting; any necessary billing was agreed to be released to the appropriate parties.
The Mayor’s Report was presented with some additional updates. The Short-term Rental Workshop continues to meet to further discuss the adjusted terms within the Village. Starting on June 1, 2025, a new permit process will be put into effect. The Village is working tirelessly to contact each short-term rental owner to best inform them on the new system. There will be a tiered structure that will reflect permit costs on the size of a unit. The Village will continue to utilize June 1st as the annual permit renewal date, which marks the beginning of the Village’s fiscal year. If residents have any questions regarding the potential zoning of their property or assistance in information, you can reach out to the Village Clerk or Zoning Enforcement Officer.
Mayor Burrell and Board Trustee Chad Neal will be attending the annual NYCOM conference from May 28-30, 2025. During this time the Village of Ellicottville will be presented with the Local Government Achievement Award. The prestigious award recognizes the extended efforts by the Village through community connections and resources within municipal projects. The Elizabeth Street Project and the Mill Street Parking Lot were highlighted by the Village to reflect these values. The Mill Street Parking Lot was previously recognized as a leading example by National Grid in energy efficiency. The Elizabeth Street Project utilized a “Dig Once” approach that best addressed multiple updates and improvements and provided long-term cost savings. With over 500 municipalities that were considered, the Village of Ellicottville will proudly accept the highly regarded award this coming weekend.
Tax bills have been sent out and the Village would like to kindly remind residents that they can make their payments to the Warsaw address listed on the billing. Residents can also make their payment at the local Five Star Bank on Washington Street. The Village does not accept cash payments at the Village Hall.
The Village received an updated S&P rating regarding bond sales. They will now be listed as a “A” and stable. This will make the Village more attractive for any necessary financing and will also improve their standing with future grant opportunities.
The walkway for the new parking lot on Mill Street is moving forward with all parties now in communication. The next steps in planning will start immediately.
The Village and Town will be separating the current website to better allow for information. Currently both parties share a site that is broken down into differing sections regarding the Village and the Town. To ease any confusion, each entity will have their own website to best serve the community’s needs. Village Clerk, Amy Hayward, is working alongside Engineer, Greg Keyser, and Southern Tier West for the Village site while Mr. Keyser will work with Southern Tier West for the Town site. Once they are established, they will provide specific details, including short-term rental information, local zoning laws, and additional regulations that pertain to their set legislation. The Village will also continue to provide an updated list of current and approved short-term rental properties once the new site is up and running.
Other highlights of the meeting include:
A position was filled in the Sewer Department as the Village welcomes Jack Long to his new placement.
The Village is happy to extend CDL training to three current employees. The costly training was covered under a Cattaraugus County grant. With these new CDL trainings, the Village can better provide additional operations involving large vehicles.
The Water Department will start an interim water reading, which will take place every six weeks instead of every three months. This is purely driven by customer service so the Village can better serve residents. If a high usage is noticed, the Village can then check and/or reach out to update the homeowner. This will not affect billing, which will stay quarterly.
Welcoming the Spring weather, the parks have been refreshed, and amenities are now open for use. The Village is also welcoming pavilion reservations for those interested.
The Village Board brought discussions to a close and the May meeting was adjourned. For next month’s meeting date and agenda, go to the existing website at ellicottvillegov.com or call 716-669-4636.