Court sides with town

AUBURN - The town of Cato's decision to contract with the Meridian Fire Department for emergency services despite concerns from some residents that a better offer was available, was upheld in Cayuga County Supreme Court on Tuesday.

After listening to arguments from the town and residents who filed a legal challenge to the contract, Supreme Court Judge Mark Fandrich said that while he understood the residents' concerns regarding the discrepancy in services that were offered in the contracts from the Jordan, Cato and Meridian departments, there was no evidence that the residents in the town's District No. 1 fire zone would suffer as a result of the decision or that the town voted in bad faith.

When the town received the contract offers from the departments on Oct. 7, the board voted 3-1 to accept Meridian's offer despite some public concern that they were paying $9,000 more for a smaller department. The larger Cato Fire Department offered a $31,000 contract.