OBSERVER Photo by Braden Carmen Brocton Village Trustee Drew Ransom voted against raising the limit on purchases for department heads without prior approval from the Village Board.

BROCTON — With the financial issues the village of Fredonia and the city of Dunkirk are each currently facing, with overwhelming tax increases forced upon residents of each municipality, neighboring villages and towns are taking notice.

Nearly 10 minutes of discussion at a recent Brocton Village Board meeting centered around whether or not to increase the limit for the Village Clerk and department heads when making purchases without prior approval from the Village Board. Trustee Drew Ransom pushed back against the suggestion to raise the limit from $1,500 to $5,000.

“I’m nervous that if we go this route, spending might go crazy,” Ransom said.

Village Clerk Scott Jagoda made the initial suggestion with the rising cost of goods and services due to inflation. Waste Water Treatment Supervisor Rich Lewis highlighted an example of a recent emergency purchase he made after calling Mayor Craig Miller for authorization that totaled roughly $3,800. Without the timely purchase, the Village of Brocton could have been forced to foot a much more expensive bill.

“A $5,000 limit would be a decent cushion to have,” Miller said.

Lewis is also the Town of Portland Supervisor, where local law allows for up to $5,000 to be spent without prior approval. All purchases are later submitted to the Board for approval.

“With the cost of everything nowadays, $1,500 goes quick,” Lewis said.

Lewis later stated he is more careful with public funds than he is with his own finances, and his department is consistently under its budgeted amount each year. Lewis frequently requests Board approval for purchases that are well within his budgeted amount.

“There’s no carelessness amongst department heads,” Miller said in response to Ransom’s concerns.

Ransom responded, “I’m not accusing it, it’s just when it comes to the whole idea of a board and what their responsibilities are, spending is a big one.”

Jagoda added, “Part of it is on me too. As the Treasurer, if I see something that doesn’t look right, I bring it to the attention of the Board.”

Brocton is not the first municipality to have a similar discussion in recent months. In the past year, Cassadaga Village Board members have asked for more transparency from department heads when it comes to purchases. The town of Arkwright has also recently taken extra steps to ensure it is being transparent and responsible with public funds after the city of Dunkirk’s financial situation continued to spiral.

“I just don’t want it to be a thing where we went from open communication to saying, ‘No, that needed to be done. I had to buy it,’ and then answer questions later. That’s how, I think, other municipalities have got themselves into big trouble,” Ransom said. “Bypass all this stuff, next thing you know, we’re $10 million in the hole. That’s how that happens. That’s all I’m trying to say.”

In the end, Ransom elected to vote against approving the increase from $1,500 to $5,000, but he was outnumbered 3-1. Mayor Craig Miller, Deputy Mayor Bryan Woleben, and Trustee Brandy Smith approved the increase, while Trustee Kari Doino was absent.

The next meeting of the Brocton Village Board will be held on Wednesday, June 18 at 6 p.m.