OBSERVER Photo by Anthony Dolce Windows were broken recently at the Food King restaurant at 4 Main St.

SILVER CREEK — Recent reported incidents of vandalism in the village has led to a call for action that seeks the input of residents.

On Monday, the village and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office have scheduled an informational town hall type meeting at 6 p.m. at the Village Ballpark at the Pavilion. Sheriff James Quattrone and members of the department, joined by members of the Village Board, will be on hand to listen to complaints on some recent incidents of criminal mischief, while creating a plan for solution. Village residents, landlords, and business owners are encouraged to attend the meeting, which will be held outdoors, while adhering to the social distancing guidelines given by the CDC.

“Because of recent vandalism, there was some talk on social media in one of the Silver Creek Facebook groups to facilitate this meeting,” said Silver Creek Board member Marv Cummings. “The Village Board has worked to create this public forum style meeting because that’s what the people wanted. We’ve done it to make residents feel like they can come and voice concerns, so we can create the foundation of neighborhood trust to report crimes to the police, and we’re hoping this will meet those needs.”

In a message posted to Facebook on Tuesday, the county Sheriff’s Department noted damage caused to the windows of three businesses between Sunday and Tuesday. “The Sheriff’s Office is reviewing video footage from the locations and will be following up on leads,” the office reported in a post.

Cummings added that the vandalism has affected multiple businesses on main street, and that this type of crime typically increases around this time of year.

“The last two incidents involved a couple businesses on Main Street,” Cummings said. “The Chinese restaurant had their windows smashed out, and the businesses at 4 Main Street and 95 Main Street also had their windows smashed out. There was also some minor criminal mischief done in the ballpark itself. Because of all of the things going on and the warmer weather, these types of crimes tend to increase.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office or the investigator handling the case at 753-4910.

There is no outdoor seating available, however those who attend can bring their own chair.

Following the community gathering, the board will meet at 7 p.m. The school superintendent will be presenting the district budget for the upcoming year, along with normal village business. The meeting will be available by video, telephone, and limited seating by reservation only. Contact the clerk’s office at 934-3240 for the meeting codes.

During a special board session earlier this month, Mayor Jeffrey Hornburg presented the tentative plan for the 2021-22 year.

“After review and some work,” Hornburg said, “I’m pleased to report that the tentative budget will decrease by 7.48 percent, bringing the tax rate from $14.03 to $13.31” per thousand dollars of assessed valuation.

Hornburg also reported no increases for the mayor or the other board members. There are, however, increases for the department heads and workers, though negotiations are still being worked out.

“I’d just like to mention as we go through this that the budget has what I’d consider to be a sizeable decrease,” Hornburg said. “I’m very pleased with it.”

There are a few reasons for the decrease. For one, Silver Creek abolished its village court system in December, and now does everything out of the town of Hanover Court. In addition, the entire village was converted over to LED lighting, which the village will see the rewards of in the form of 50% less in expenses. Finally, the village is entering into a new contract with the town of Hanover for the sheriff’s contract, which Hornburg said has also led to some savings.

Hornburg stressed this remains the tentative budget, and the Village Board has until Monday to finalize their budget. Should they fail to do so, the tentative budget will become the finalized budget.

“I want to thank the board for their time and effort putting this budget together,” Hornburg said. “We will work on it as need be to see if we can get any more cost savings.”