Village of Tannersville seeks voter input on dissolution

TANNERSVILLE, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- Village of Tannersville residents will soon vote on the village's future. Village trustees, in a 3-2 vote, voted to put the question, "Should the village of Tannersville dissolve? Yes or No" on the ballot with a referendum set for January 14, 2025.

If voters agree to dissolve the village, the town of Hunter will take over governance and services, including water, sewer and emergency response services. The town would also take over any village grants or debts, starting December 31, 2025. If the referendum does not pass, the village cannot try to dissolve again for four years.

In February, village trustees adopted a resolution to start the dissolution process after a petition, made by residents began to circulate. The move to adopt the resolution gave the board more time to address the issue and formulate a plan on their own timeline, according to Mayor David Schneider.

Because the board adopted the resolution, it allowed four to six months to develop a plan. If residents presented a petition, with the required 84 signatures or 20% of village registered voters, it would have had 30 days to develop a plan, Wade Beltramo, New York State Conference of Mayors & Municipal Officials (NYCOM) representative said at a March 11 meeting.

The board determined it would be important to evaluate whether there is or not potential for improved services and reduced taxpayer costs should the village government dissolve and the town of Hunter take over the governance role.

Since the resolution, the village has been working with planning consultants at the Laberge Group to develop their plan and hold public meetings and hearings on the process. Trustees also applied for, and received, a New York State Citizen Reorganization Grant to support the study of dissolution and the development of the proposed plan.

The Laberge Group has been collecting data, interviewing village and town department staff and analyzing their findings. According to the Laberge Group and Beltramo, more than 60 villages across the state have dissolved in the last century and many more have either studied the idea or had it voted down by residents.

The municipal law requires certain items to be addressed within the plan, including transferring or eliminating public employee positions, allocation of village assets, village liabilities, municipal services and local laws. But ultimately, while dissolution will be decided by village residents, it is essentially a municipal issue, according to Laberge Group Vice President Ben Syden.

The municipality determines how services are going to be distributed. For example, village residents who use municipal services, such as water or sewage, will still need those services, but it would be up to the municipality to decide how to provide the services.

Under municipal law, only village residents will decide, by vote, the fate of a municipal dissolution; town of Hunter residents cannot vote. For a summary of the plan or to watch previous public meetings, visit the village of Tannersville website or dissolution website.