Senate Bill S3087

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3087

SPONSOR: CARLUCCI
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the town law, in relation to the establishment and oper-
ation of a hamlet district to continue to provide village services upon
the dissolution of a village

 
PURPOSE:

The goal of this bill is to allow villages to dissolve but allow for
continued services to a resulting Hamlet without resorting to the
creation of other districts, such as water or fire districts, within the
Town. This gives village residents a level of safety and comfort when
confronting a decision on whether or not to dissolve a village.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Adds a new section 203-a to the town law. Subdivision 1
empowers the town board to create a hamlet district to continue to
              

provide residents of a dissolved village with services. Subdivision 2
assigns the obligations accrued in relation to the provision of services
to the town. Subdivision 3 assigns the hamlet district the duties and
functions of the dissolved village and charges the services to the taxa-
ble property within the boundaries of the dissolved village. Subdivision
4 addresses the phasing period and the composition of the governing body
of the hamlet district. In the first year, the mayor and two trustees of
the dissolved village and two trustees of the town board shall govern
the new specified district. The second year two trustees of the village,
two town board members and the town supervisor shall govern. Thereafter
the town board shall govern the hamlet district. The purpose of this
section is to transfer the operation and management of village services
gradually from village officials and former village officials that have
knowledge about the provision of former village services to the town
officials.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Allowing for the creation. of a Hamlet District to continue necessary
services once provided by a now-dissolved Village is a cost saving meas-
ure. This Bill creates a mechanism so that villages may more easily be
dissolved without the residents of such former village experiencing a
gap or lack in necessary services. The citizens of a hamlet and town at
large should not have to endure an expensive and time consuming process
to create districts for services once provided by a village. This Bill
is designed to address the concerns of citizens regarding uninterrupted
necessary services while facing a vote on whether to dissolve a village.
A level of comfort concerning services provided by a village will
encourage a responsible vote by the residents.

Another goal is to encourage smaller villages to dissolve and then
transfer the provision of services to one special district governed by
the town board, the net effect of which is to lower the cost of such
services. A hamlet district would assume the village role in providing
services as a singular entity as opposed to creating numerous services
districts such as fire, water, sewer, police protection, and so forth to
replace the former village municipal services. An existing town hoard is
able to provide for a comprehensive list of municipal functions without
the necessity and expense of having village officers such as secre-
taries, clerk, board of trustees, planning board, or assessors. However,
a phasing period may he necessary to ensure continued, reliable service
and thus this bill allows for former Village Trustees and the mayor to
maintain a presence in the governing body for two years and impart their
specialized local knowledge as it phases over to total town board
control in the third year.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2017-18: S1661 - LOCAL GOV'T
2015-16: S2014 - Local Government
2011-12: S4297 - Local Government Committee

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.