A $3.33 bottle of antacids may not seem like much in an $11 million village of Fredonia budget. But after a tax increase of 54% last spring, questions need to be asked.

Last week, Fredonia Trustee LeeAnn Lazarony asked Department of Public Works Director Dave Bird about a bill one of his employees submitted to the village for antacids, during a Board of Trustees workshop last week.

“I know everyone’s going to go, ‘Oh my God, she’s so picky.’ But there was a bill submitted to bills and payroll for antacids. I don’t think that’s part of the first aid kit,” Lazarony said to Bird, who received an answer on the buy later in the meeting.

Lazarony is distinguishing herself in the first two months as a village elected official who is watching what is being spent. That is refreshing to see. Even Chautauqua County legislators, who sit on $38 million of your dollars while doling out tax increases, are not this tuned into finances.

North county municipalities, especially the larger ones, remain in fiscal difficulty. If questions are not being asked, then it will definitely keep getting worse.