 Town Supervisor John D. Moffitt
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A familiar question in Mendon Town Hall – where do you live? While it may seem simple, the Town of Mendon and Village of Honeoye Falls are two separate municipalities, with two separate governments, and our residents can live in two separate school districts.
It can be puzzling, but it is important to understand, especially for taxes and services. The Town of Mendon includes all of the Village of Honeoye Falls, but not all of the Honeoye Falls-Lima School District is in the Town of Mendon. In fact, the Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District includes three counties, nine towns, and two villages. A portion of the Town of Mendon, over 180 parcels, are in the Pittsford Central School District. The Pittsford School district even owns land in the Town of Mendon. Pittsford names their schools after the road they are located on, so Mendon High School, is part of the Pittsford School district. Some of the students at Pittsford-Mendon High School live in the Town of Mendon. The same goes for Mendon Center Elementary School.
Another question we often ask at Town Hall – What is your mailing address? Most residents in the Town of Mendon, outside the Village of Honeoye Falls, have a 14472 zip code and Honeoye Falls mailing address, even though they are not Village residents. Several other mailing addresses are within the Town of Mendon, including Mendon, Henrietta, Pittsford, and Victor. The Town of Mendon does not assign mailing addresses – that’s the jurisdiction of the U.S. Postal Service. For some of our residents near the Hamlet of Mendon, the 14506 zip code is applicable or it can be obtained through a Post Office Box.
For all residents of the Town of Mendon, the Town provides marriage licenses, as well as fishing and hunting licenses, building permits, burn permits, filings, Epod permits, dog licenses, tax collection and information, notary services, Freedom of Information requests, permits for fire service alarms, and highway-related maintenance as well as snow and ice removal. One important note, all residents of the Village of Honeoye Falls must go to Village Hall for building permits. When it comes to public works, all residents of the Town of Mendon, outside the Village of Honeoye Falls, are on septic. Some residents inside the Village of Honeoye Falls do not have public sewers. Public water is most prevalent north of Boughton Hill Road. Natural gas is sporadic within the Town. Whether you live in the Village or Town, the Code is different for each municipality, and each has different local laws.
The Town of Mendon is home to over 200 lane miles of roads. These roads belong to either the State of New York, County of Monroe, Town of Mendon, or the Village of Honeoye Falls. The State and County often contract the Town to provide snow and ice remediation on their roads located in the Town. While the State does not permit the Town to do road resurfacing, the County regularly hires the Town of Mendon to do road work. The Town and Village are responsible for maintaining our own local roads.
We have several taxing authorities within the Town of Mendon – School, County, Town, and Village (if you live within the Village limits) and a Fire District. While the Town collects HF-L school taxes for Mendon residents at the Mendon Town Hall, the Town is not the authority and does not control the tax amount or levy. The Town of Mendon is only responsible for the amount of Town Tax on your combined County and Town tax bill you or your financial institution will receive at the first of the year. Please look over your tax bill – it may include charges for a water district, lighting district, or fire district. You may view your bill by going to the County website, www.MonroeCounty.gov, or call the Mendon Town Clerk’s office, and we will provide a copy of your bill. There are also two fire districts within the Town of Mendon. The Mendon Fire District covers a portion of the Town outside the Village, especially on the east and north side of Town. The Mendon Fire Protection District is on the west side of the Town. The Town contracts with the Village of Honeoye Falls for Fire Protection in this area. Often when 911 is called, both fire companies, Mendon and Honeoye Falls, respond. The Village of Honeoye Falls has an ambulance service that the Mendon Town Board contracts to provide these vital services to Town residents outside the Village.
I mention all of this, not to confuse you, but to make you as knowledgeable as possible. Boundaries for services often do not follow the area code or town boundaries. We rely on shared services and support to save taxpayer money and not duplicate already existing services. No one in government can do it alone – it takes a village, town, school districts, and more, to make up this community we enjoy.
Please feel free to contact me with any concerns or questions at jmoffitt@townofmendon.org or (585) 624-6061.