A presentation of a draft dissolution plan of the Village of New Paltz by Laberge Group detailed what it would mean for both the village and town of New Paltz. The Albany-based firm was chosen by village mayor Tim Rogers earlier this year to conduct the study. According to the draft timeline, the village’s dissolution would occur on December 31, 2026.
New Paltz is currently made up of two municipalities: the Village of New Paltz, which includes much of the historic area, downtown and the university; and the surrounding Town of New Paltz, which encompasses the village. Each municipality has its own governing body, provides distinct services and collects its own taxes. Both municipalities have a history of working together, and share some services, like the New Paltz Police Department.
Dissolution means the village government would be eliminated, and the town would take over all village assets and services and assume full responsibility for governing the area. Proponents of the plan feel it makes sense both fiscally and logistically. Laberge worked with government officials and citizens from both the village and town to produce the draft dissolution plan presented at village hall on Tuesday, April 29.
Laberge Group vice-president Ben Syden and Kathleen Rooney, local government specialists, made the presentation, which builds upon two decades of dissolution consideration by the village. Their study concluded that the time is right for dissolution in part because of frustration caused by town-village boundaries, which in some developments has caused the need for annexation, and canceled others due to the need for contiguous property. Erasing the boundaries would also streamline capital planning and asset management, Laberge said.
But Laberge also included a recommendation by the study’s joint village-town land use workgroup that a hybrid zoning approach be implemented, with some unique village zoning districts remaining intact.
Laberge also cited the benefits of unified municipal decision-making, and a single government would also enable New Paltz to better weather fiscal challenges, staff turnovers and disasters.
Planners acknowledge that some members of the public expressed concerns about access to municipal services like public works, water and sewer, fire and central administration, but the study shows that each would likely become streamlined and more efficient without deleterious impacts to local residents.
Currently, the village has a range of quality-of-life codes, rules and regulations that may be similar to those in the town, including rental property registration and regulation, short-term rentals, affordable housing, keeping of animals, speed limits on local streets and parking regulations. Village codes would remain in place for up to two years unless incorporated into town law, and would otherwise be deemed repealed.
The draft dissolution plan recommends the transfer of all property, infrastructure, equipment and vehicle fleet to the town. This includes the town taking on the 99-year land lease of the volunteer New Paltz Fire Department at 25 Plattekill Avenue. With the current town hall located in rented trailers, village hall would become the New Paltz Town Hall, either temporarily or, if renovated, permanently.
The current draft shifts all assets and liabilities to the town as well, including a fund balance of $2,897,487. Liabilities include two bonds, including a water tower and meter bond expected to be paid off by September 2026, and the other funded by water system users. A bond anticipation note (BAN) currently standing at $500,000 is anticipated to be paid off prior to dissolution.
Should the plan reach voters, many may be convinced by a reduction in property taxes after dissolution, in part by shifting village costs to the town-wide property tax base, and a reduction in net costs from the elimination of village government.
There is also the Citizens Empowerment Tax Credit (CETC) for municipal dissolution. The CETC is equal to 15 percent of the combined village and tax levies in the year prior to dissolution, or $1,000,000, whichever is less. In New Paltz, the latter would come into effect as the most recent combined levies total nearly $14 million. Taxes are also likely to drop for town property owners, depending upon the level of CETC use.
Dissolution is hardly a fait accompli, and its fate won’t be determined for between one-to-six months, depending upon a range of steps. The first will take place on Tuesday, June 3, when the village board votes to consider endorsement of the draft dissolution plan. If that step is approved, a public hearing would then take place at a village board meeting held on Wednesday, July 9. Wednesday, August 6 would give the village board the opportunity to either adopt the final dissolution plan or stop the process altogether.
If the plan survives those steps, it would likely go before voters in the village on Tuesday, November 4. According to Article 17-A of New York municipal law, town residents are ineligible to vote on the referendum.
If voters fail to support dissolution, the process cannot be initiated again for four years. The village and town could still focus on shared services and could attempt to consolidate rather than incorporate. But Laberge said the latter is very rare.
While the temptation might be to complete the process at the end of 2025, Syden said waiting until the end of 2026 would allow for a much more thoughtful and measured process.
“It gives you a year and a month, almost two months, to go through the process of shutting down the village, creating environments, so we’ll go over later, transfer the staff over to town, begin redeploying your resources and it’s just coming time to do that,” he said. “The biggest mistake communities make when they go to a district is they pick a date that’s too soon.”
For further information, including a look at the draft dissolution plan, visit: https://labergegroup.com/newpaltz/
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