If the residents of the Village of New Paltz want to dissolve the village government, they could just vote to do that, and be done with it. Ben Syden, a municipal consultant with the Laberge Group, was at a special village meeting on January 15 to explain that there’s a better way.
Village trustees are already embarking on a board-initiated dissolution process, which by law has to include a plan. Had this been initiated by citizens, not even that would be necessary in order to have a vote. Plans for all kinds of restructuring of local government have become a specialty at Laberge, and this was one of two informational public meetings that are required to be held during the process.
The dissolution plan is central to what village residents — and village residents only — would be voting on, should it get that far. In the plan would be laid out how to deal with village assets, including property; liabilities; employees; and the existing village code, including zoning. It would also contain projections about what taxes would look like for town residents, if a referendum to dissolve were to pass.
Whether that plan is followed would depend upon the elected officials left standing after dissolving the village: the member of the town council. It will go a lot more smoothly if town personnel are involved in the conversation, and in this case they appear to be quite engaged. Syden said that the Laberge recommendation is “careful transition planning,” which would fix the dissolution date for December 31, 2026 but actually have the process taking place for six months before that.
Voters will be asked to review the report that will be issued this summer, and decide for themselves if they believe it would leave the community better off. Syden said that in addition to finances and laws, voters often consider questions about changes to services they receive, as well as community identity and whether they feel that they will still have a voice in government.
Here’s more information about the process to come:
Timeline
Syden laid out a tentative timeline for this dissolution process as follows:
- first information session held January 15, 2025
- gathering data and interviewing stakeholders including all municipal leaders and department heads is expected to be completed by February, 2025
- Plan framework creation, overseen by a steering committee comprised of two village and two town officials, along with three individuals picked because they are subject-matter experts, should be finished by April, 2025. To inform the steering committee, there will be four work groups. One will focus on land use and zoning, another on integrating public works including water and sewer systems, a third will dig into the facilities and finances and administration questions, and the last will make recommendations about which village codes are worth keeping on the town books.
- informed by these data, second information session will be held in April, 2025; as with the first one, questions asked will probably be answered in writing on the project web site, rather than at the session
- the draft plan will be released in May, 2025, and revised as needed
- village board members will vote to endorse the draft plan in June, 2025; if this vote fails, the process stops
- a public hearing in July, 2025 will be an opportunity for members of the public to weigh in
- a trustee vote to approve the final plan should happen August 6, 2025; revisions may have been made following the hearing and prior to this vote, and if the plan is not approved, the process is halted
- the referendum to dissolve the village will be on Election Day, November 4, 2025; if voters shoot it down, then that is the end for at least four years
- if approved, village officials will begin transition by transferring or selling assets
- village employees will begin working with town colleagues by June or July, 2026
- intermunicipal agreements are prepared to ensure no interruption of services during the transition
- town officials will decide if any special districts must be created, such as for street lighting, water and sewer, and fire protection
- the 2027 town budget process would incorporate everything within the town borders for the first time since 1887
- dissolution day would be set for December 31, 2026
Taxes and finances
Broadly speaking, Syden said that what usually occurs is that village residents save a little money on their property tax bills, while the remaining town residents see no change. That is without considering the Citizens’ Empowerment Tax Credit, which ensures that the community gets state funding in perpetuity. Based on its size, the credit would be the maximum, a million dollars a year. $700,000 of that money would have to be used to reduce property taxes, and the remaining $300,000 could be used for any purpose. In the first year or two, that $300,000 would in part be used to cover lingering transition costs.
Syden is confident that “in perpetuity” is reliable. Yes, state legislators could cut that funding off, but there are much larger amounts doled out for highway paving and other local needs which the consultant considers to be a bellwether due to their ongoing stability.
Village residents would remain liable for remaining village debts. Owners of property now in the village would pay their share of remaining bonds and other obligations until those balances reach zero. This includes any outcomes resulting from litigation. Any new borrowing would be shouldered by all town residents.
Laws and zoning
Village code would remain in force for up to two years to ease the transition. Anything that town council members don’t decide is worth retaining will fade away at that point. The transition plan will include recommendations on each ordinance and every piece of the zoning code. To keep any of it will require action at a town board meeting during that time. Zoning in the remaining hamlet may end up being largely as it is now in the village.
Fire protection
There’s no such thing as a town fire department. One of the questions to be explored is whether the village fire department should be transitioned to a fire district, or a fire protection district. These terms look similar, but are legally quite different.
A fire district is a separate government, run by elected commissioners who approve its budget. The voting in fire districts, per state law, takes place on the second Tuesday in December.
A fire protection district is a tax district within the town government. The finances are tracked separately and the budgeting is distinct within the overall town budget documents. While assets can be owned within a fire protection district, the services would be by contract with the fire company.
Employees
Union contracts will have to be reviewed and compared, and some discussion will have to take place regarding who is included in what bargaining groups. The negotiations will include ensuring that everyone with retirement credit gets to retain their years of service, and to make sure that employees with similar levels of experience end up getting similar pay and benefits packages.
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