Ellicott Town Board meeting (May 8, 2023)

The Ellicott Town Board, with no discussion, voted to rescind a resolution that eliminated one of the Town Justice positions.

Town Justice Marilyn Gerace expressed her disappointment and frustration about the process at the privilege of the floor, saying the matter shouldn’t have gotten to this point, “The Town Board’s ill-advised decision to eliminate a justice position has taken a considerable amount of time, energy, and resources. All of which can be better spent on other matters. This entire ordeal was completely avoidable had the Town Board relied on the expertise of others and not succumbed to inaccurate information, innuendos, conjectures, and rumors.”

The town justice position that would have been eliminated is the one held by Gerace.

Ellicott resident David Leach questioned if the town board would have used an executive session to make cuts to the Ellicott Police Department or Highway Departments without consulting the Police Chief and Highway Superintendent, “So why did the Town Board treat the Town Justices and Town Court in such a cavalier and disrespectful matter? A person with a more suspicious mind than myself could be forgiven for thinking that petty political and personal factors are at play. I, however, know that my Town Board is not motivated by such base considerations.”

The Town Board had initially approved the resolution to eliminate the justice position at its monthly meeting on March 13. Residents and officials were critical of the move given that there was no previous discussion or notice about the plan to eliminate the position.

Following public pushback received at the April 10 board meeting as well as facing a permissive referendum in June where the public would have been able to vote on whether to eliminate the town justice position, the Town Board voted unanimously last night to rescind the resolution.

Supervisor Janet Bowman declined to comment on the action following the meeting.

The agenda for the meeting on Monday, May 8 has “Resolution #1-2023” under old business.

Several dozen people attended the April 10 town board meeting to speak out against the Justice position being eliminated. Letters of support were also entered into the record by the Ellicott Town Police union and District Attorney Jason Schmidt.

The town Justice position affected is the one held by long-time Judge Marilyn Gerace, who has circulated petitions to appear on the November General Election ballot. Sally Jaroszynski is the other Town Justice.

Gerace said in her comments to the board in April that she and Judge Jaroszynski were blindsided by the decision, only learning about the position elimination the day after the vote when they both received a letter from Town Supervisor Janet Bowman.

She criticized the board for the making the decision without providing the public adequate opportunity to comment.

The Jamestown Post-Journal reports that it is expected that Town Supervisor Janet Bowman will make a motion to rescind the resolution Monday night.

Should the Town Board not approve that motion, a permissive referendum on the resolution will be held in June.

A petition effort, led by Ellicott Judge Marilyn Gerace, garnered 325 signatures to force a permissive referendum after the Ellicott Town Board voted unanimously on March 13 to eliminate a Town Justice position.

According to New York State Law Article 7, sections 90-94, the petition signature total needed to be at least 5% of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election, which took place in November 2022.

Gerace said she estimated that around 3,500 voted in Ellicott in that election which meant she needed between 100 and 175 signatures. According to the Chautauqua County Board of Elections posted results for 2022, 3,385 residents in Ellicott had voted in November. Either way, the 325 signatures exceeded the threshold required.

Gerace submitted the petitions to the Ellicott Town Clerk on April 5, which started the clock on when the special election would be held. If the town board takes no action, the special election must, by law, be held 60 to 75 days after the petitions were submitted. This places that election between June 5 and June 20.

Gerace did request at Monday’s town board meeting that the board not wait until their May 8 monthly meeting and instead hold a special meeting this month to decide whether to rescind the resolution.

The Ellicott Town Board sent a letter to the media Wednesday responding to comments made at the meeting and stories in recent days.

In it, the board apologized to Judge Marilyn Gerace and Judge Sally Jaroszynski for not giving notice about the resolution prior to it being voted on. The letter said, “The Board holds no animus towards either Judge Gerace or Judge Jaroszynski. The Board recognizes their dedication to the Court and the residents of the Town of Ellicott.”

The letter goes onto say the Town Board has been reviewing all town operations in an “effort to determine and ensure the services provided are being delivered in an efficient and cost-effective manner.” It also said communication between the town board and court has not always been open or effective.

The salary for the Town Justice position that was eliminated is $14,200. The 2023 budget for the town of Ellicott is $2.76 million.

The board did take issue with the accusation that they were in violation of open meetings law, citing that they voted on the resolution to eliminate the Justice position under new business and that it was done in open session.

The Town Board indicated they agree that another meeting needs to be held to discuss the issue of the elimination of a Town Justice position. The letter said while a meeting would be posted in the newspaper and on the town’s website, they also encouraged people who are unable to attend or not comfortable speaking out at a public meeting to forward correspondence to the Town Clerk.

The town’s website can be found at townofellicott.com

According to the minutes posted on the Town of Ellicott website, the board unanimously voted at the March 13 meeting to abolish an elected town justice position effective December 31, 2023. The resolution was not on the agenda and the vote took place at the end of the meeting following a 34 minute executive session on “litigation/personnel” issues.

The town then published a legal notice in the Jamestown Post-Journal on March 14, 2023 that said the “Town Board has determined that it would be in the best interest of the Town of Ellicott to reduce the number of Town Justices to one.”

The town Justice position affected is the one held by long-time Judge Marilyn Gerace, who has circulated petitions to appear on the November General Election ballot. Sally Jaroszynski is the other Town Justice.

According to the Jamestown Post-Journal, Gerace was joined by a couple dozen supporters at the town board meeting Monday night with letters of support being entered into the record by the Ellicott Town Police union and District Attorney Jason Schmidt.

Gerace said in her comments that she and Judge Jaroszynski were blindsided by the decision, only learning about the position elimination the day after the vote when they both received a letter from Town Supervisor Janet Bowman.

She criticized the board for the making the decision without providing the public adequate opportunity to comment.

She added in her statement that a petition has garnered over 300 signatures, which could force the town to put the resolution to a public referendum in a special election if the Town Board doesn’t act to rescind it.

District Attorney Schmidt also called on the town board to rescind the resolution, stating in a letter that Ellicott Town Court is one of the busiest courts in Chautauqua County.

He said that the elimination of the one of two Justice positions “could jeopardize the integrity of our criminal prosecutions by leading to longer delays in the adjudication of individual cases, increasing wait times for all involved, including not just criminal defendants but witnesses and counsel as well, and increasing the Court’s backlog which we have all worked so hard to reduce following the reopening. Without question, these factors could potentially lead to the dismissal of cases on statutory and Constitutional speedy trial grounds through no fault of the police or prosecutors; this, in turn, could undermine public confidence in the legal system and diminish access to justice for our citizens.”

A call and email by WRFA to Supervisor Bowman requesting comment on the matter have not been returned.