Virtuoso shares Town of Niagara fall update

Guest Editorial by Town of Niagara Supervisor Sylvia Virtuoso

My favorite season of all is fall! Mostly for the temperatures and beautiful colors!

Reminder: Leaf pickup on a regular basis will tentatively commence Nov. 1, through the first snowfall.

It’s getting darker earlier, so turning house lights on is a great safety feature! Be sure to change your light bulbs to LED to save a ton on National Grid bill! Check those smoke detector batteries!

Budget season happens to be in fall, my least favorite season of the year for work. It is so difficult to make these financial decisions on behalf of all of us – residents, businesses, employees – but someone has to do it, and it’s my job as chief fiscal officer – a job I take extremely seriously.

I am always looking toward a better future. I’ll take it with all the good things that go with it, working with our caring residents, our dedicated businesses and second-to-none employees who, if you don’t spend every day with them like I do, you cannot appreciate everything they do on a daily basis to keep this town running. They are the heartbeat of the town.

The department heads have submitted their budgets and have been very conservative, and the usual great team players they have shown me in the 20 months I have been supervisor. The situation this year is planning ahead to 2026 with a new CSEA contract, as well as a new fire contract we are currently working on. Health insurance is increasing another 17% for employees and retirees.

This is all part of doing business, but nobody wants to pay those increases, which are excessive – I know this. We will review and see what we can do without. I will present it to the board this month and we will work from there.

The cost of every single thing we do in life has gone up in our homes, our workplaces – it seems to become a balancing act – and the Town Board and I communicate regularly and try our very best to balance the needs of the entire town. Not an easy task, but we signed up for it, and we also know we will always have those who have bigger and better ideas to share. We listen, of course, but in the end we must make the hard decisions.

Always remember we also are taxpayers just like you. Transparency and honesty is my goal, and if there are questions, I have answers. It might not be pretty, but I will always take the time to listen, and always take the time to care.

Amazon is moving right along. Unfortunately, the Packard/Lockport Road traffic pattern will be disrupted for some time. Hopefully, it will be done by November for the road portion. Opening is scheduled for August 2026. Our Building Department has been extremely busy with this project, as well as the many proposals that are coming in for new developments.

I believe that, in the 20 months together, this department has been diligent in cleaning up our neighborhoods. Unfortunately, in government, everything takes longer than I would like, but we must follow the law. In time, compliance is achieved! I personally thank that team for their diligence and cooperation in bringing this town to the higher potential we all deserve.

Please join us in the following upcoming events: Niagara County Kids N Kites, Farmer’s Market Flea and Vendor Market, Senior Craft Day, Kids Craft Night, Niagara County Paint Collection, Trunk or Treat, Noel at Niagara. Follow the Niagara Recreation or Town of Niagara NY page on Facebook for all the info, and look for the newsletter in the Tribune.

Town Hall is closed Oct. 13 for Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Trick or treat for the town is Friday, Oct. 31, from 4-7 p.m.

Happy fall from your town supervisor.