Island-Sity

After the unofficial vote was announced, Gaughan congratulated town residents for turning out to consider the proposition, calling the vote "a magnificent exercise in democracy."Gaughan said he did not feel as if he lost Thursday. "I continue to believe in the importance of letting people, not politicians, decide the size and cost of their government," he said.

Gaughan said Grand Island taxpayers would have saved $75,000 a year by eliminating two seats on the board. McMahon described the savings as 10 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, or $10 on a property assessed at $100,000.

Town officials voiced concerns about a concentration of power and the potential for corruption; a meeting of two members would constitute a quorum, and business could be conducted. In addition, there would have been implications for properly conducting business under the state's Open Meetings Law.

Voting began at 6 a.m. Thursday, and Gaughan made his first visit to the fire hall a couple of hours later.

"He's been cheered and booed," reported Town Clerk Patricia A. Frentzel, who said she had received at least a dozen complaints from residents about his presence there.

"People are calling me [asking], 'Why is he out there on the parking lot,'" Frentzel related. "That bothered people, and they wanted to make sure that he was allowed to."

Mark Webb, who said he had lived on the island for 21 years, was holding a sign that said simply "No" outside the polling place. Asked why, he said, "Because Kevin Gaughan has spread a cancer in our community. Today, Grand Island needs to stand up for reason in the face of folly."

Jeffrey Eberhard was among the volunteers who circulated the petitions to force Thursday's vote, and he was among the people who voted for downsizing.

"I believe that the cost of the government bureaucracy is excessive, and it needs to be trimmed," he said.

The downsizing campaign started in April. Beginning in early June, a team of 10 resident volunteers collected more than 1,000 signatures to get the proposition on the ballot. The required minimum number of valid signatures was 343, representing 5 percent of town voters to cast ballots in the last gubernatorial election.

Last year, downsizing propositions were approved by residents in five towns of varying population: Alden (10,287), Evans (16,822), Hamburg (55,989), Orchard Park (28,607) and West Seneca (43,753). The smallest margin of approval -- just 32 votes -- came from residents of Alden, the least-populated.

Erie County's dwindling population has been among Gaughan's arguments for downsizing local governments. But Grand Island's population -- estimated at 19,025 in 2009 -- actually represents an increase of 2.2 percent from the 2000 census.

In the towns where downsizing was approved last year, it has kicked in only in Evans and West Seneca. The effective date elsewhere is Jan. 1, 2012.

Despite his winning record in reducing the size of town governments, Gaughan has not had success in his campaigns to abolish village governments.

Last month, proposals were resoundingly defeated by residents of Sloan and Williamsville, where the votes against represented 81 percent and 83 percent, respectively, of total ballots cast. Residents of Farnham, population 311, vote Tuesday on a proposition to abolish their village government.