The New NY Act empowers taxpayers to consolidate/dissolve a special district. New NY was passed by the New York State legislature in the spring of 2009. This law was initiated by the office of New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in an effort to reform the State’s local government fiscal inefficiencies and abuse.
What is the difference between consolidation and dissolution?
Consolidation is (1) the combination of two or more local government entities, which results in the termination of each of the consolidated entities and the creation of a new entity that has jurisdiction over the population, or (2) when one local government entity absorbs another, resulting in the termination of the absorbed entity and giving the remaining entity jurisdiction over the entire population.
Dissolution is the complete termination of a local government entity, whose residents would then receive service from a different governing body, but not lose the service.
How does the New NY Act work?
The New NY Act enables a county, town, or taxpayers to initiate consolidation/dissolution efforts. Below is a summary of this method. For the complete New NY Act, click here.
- Taxpayer-led consolidation/dissolution must be approved by referendum, a special election where residents vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a specific issue. A referendum is created with a signature petition that contains 10% of registered voters or 5,000 registered voters within the municipality, whichever is less. There is no timeframe or deadline for signature collection.
- These signatures must be filed with and examined by the town clerk. Once approved, the clerk will issue a notice of approval to hold a referendum, which must be held 60-90 days after this notice. The referendum is approval only of the idea of dissolution or consolidation.
- If the referendum passes, an actual plan must be created by the local governing body itself, with input from the public. The governing body must meet within 30 days of the successful referendum and create a plan within 180 days of such meeting. This plan must then be approved through a second referendum.
- Before the second referendum, the proposed plan will be addressed at a public hearing(s), so the voters will be able to offer their opinions.
- If the referendum is successful, the plan is to be enacted. If the plan is rejected, a four-year moratorium is placed on this specific plan.
