Fredonia Village Hall

Village of Fredonia taxpayers will be facing a tax hike in the 2021-22 spending plan, but it’s nothing like the proposed 17% increase first proposed by Mayor Douglas Essek.

By unanimous vote, trustees passed a plan that increases taxes by 1.4% to $35.69 per thousand dollars of assessed valuation. It is a 50-cent hike per $1,000.

Essek expressed his disappointment with the changes, which decreased the salary for the fire chief, which is currently vacant; lowered a possible pay raise for the current police chief while creating a new position of personnel specialist at more than $50,000 per year.

That new position was approved, 4-1, though new Trustee Scott Johnston also expressed some befuddlement when seeing the terms for the position.

“This is the first time I saw this,” said Johnston who later offered a “yes” vote. Trustee James Lynden voted no based on the salary.

An agenda for the meeting had not been posted online by the village even though the meeting was already in progress.