T-burg mayor reflects on village’s 150th year

As Trumansburg celebrates its 150th year as a municipality, Mayor Rordan Hart reflects on the community he represents and the village he calls home.

“In 2007, I was asked to run for a trustee seat,” Hart said. “I had never had any interest in politics. I have the type of personality that makes me get as involved as possible when approaching things. I’ve come to believe that local government is the best way to effect change in our communities.”

In 2018, the village of Trumansburg welcomed Hart as its new mayor. Hart, a registered independent, was nominated by both the Democratic and Republican parties. Hart is the youngest mayor to be elected in Trumansburg in over 50 years.

Hart’s parents immigrated to the area in the early 1970s, so Hart is a lifelong village resident. Having completed her medical training overseas and after completing her medical residency in Baltimore, Hart’s mother opened her private medical practice on Hector Street in the heart of Trumansburg. In 1963, wanting to be closer to the medical practice, the Hart family purchased a home in downtown Trumansburg.

“I had already been in a job that consisted of all things Trumansburg village for 11 years, as an elected trustee,” Hart said. “I figured that as long as the town and the folks in it would have me, I would take this opportunity.”

Hart was a financial advisor when he assumed his role as mayor of the village that he had grown up in and made his permanent home, and he continues to work as a financial advisor in addition to his role as mayor. Sharing a home with his wife, Lindsay, and his two sons right in the middle of town affords him a central location in the city he governs.

“There is a lot that goes into the operation of a municipality that most people never see,” Rordan said. “I believe that being where I am at in local government allows me to effect changes regarding zoning, water quality, the fire department, emergency medical services (EMS) and law enforcement.”

Rordan reflected on Ithaca’s Reimagining Public Safety initiative, launched in February 2021 by the mayor at the time, Svante Myrick, that was designed to redefine the role of law enforcement in Tompkins County and the effects on community service staff.

“What we have seen as a result of initiative is the willful dismantling of necessary services,” Rordan said. “The ripple effect of the initiative has created a great strain on our EMS services as well as law enforcement. Our EMS department in Trumansburg, by contract, is to cover 115 square miles. The village of Trumansburg is only 1.2 square miles. Currently, our EMS is covering 400 square miles.”

Rordan noted that due to the decreased number of law enforcement officers, calls that have historically gone through law enforcement are currently being handled by EMS from the village, causing additional stress to an already-strained service.

“To me, the unthinkable was the end goal, and that was to end law enforcement as we know it,” he said. “There’s the mistaken belief by officials on a local level that the effects in their towns exist in a silo. These effects impact all emergency services in the county. You still need the assistance of local agencies. The ripple effect has become evident.”

Rordan said that there have been times in the last two years when situations arose that needed the sort of outside assistance that used to be provided by the Ithaca Police Department (IPD) when it had a robust and proper staff, but the village didn’t have that same resource available.

IPD’s current officer shortage means that rather than county departments being able to call on IPD for further assistance, they may instead be called in to assist with IPD matters.

So, if IPD needs more assistance, it has to call on groups like the Trumansburg, Ithaca College and Cornell University police departments, as well as the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department. In those situations where Trumansburg’s assistance is needed, that would leave the village with no law enforcement, Rordan said.

Rordan added that from 2020 to 2021, Trumansburg only had one officer for the west side of the lake, which encompasses 40 miles.

“We have seen a tremendous uptick in EMS calls. The volume of calls to Bangs [Ambulance] has increased, and resources are stretched very thin,” Rordan said. “It’s absolutely a fact that law enforcement limitations are the cause.”

Rordan acknowledged that the challenges of payments and budgeting for EMS and ambulance response are impacted by the Reimagining initiative.

“Nowhere in conversations regarding the Reimagining initiative has there been any conversations about who pays for these life-saving services,” Rordan said. “EMS provides, in essence, portable emergency rooms. They are often the difference between life and death, and we can at least agree that they are needed. They need the training and the equipment. Our community doesn’t feel we should do away with people. We are in Tompkins County, and we welcome a holistic review of the budgets and services.”

Rordan voiced that, among the municipalities in Tompkins County, many, including his own, were completely shut out of conversations regarding the Reimagining initiative and were not acknowledged or permitted to be involved.

“In no universe is it a good idea to do away with emergency services and law enforcement,” he said. “Local government is meant to provide services in an emergency, whatever that emergency may be.”

Rordan said he believes that local government is the most important level of government and that the people in it and the motivations while they are in office are what represents the interest of the municipalities they serve.

“Upstate is littered with small villages and towns that are all very similar. There’s no sense of vibrancy or anything left,” Rordan said. “Trumansburg has bucked that. People choose to live here because of the vibrant and generous community we have. We are lucky to live in the heart of the Finger Lakes that offers so much. It’s the community and people that makes Trumansburg what it is.”

Trumansburg Connection appears every Wednesday in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com.