Seneca Falls Voters Opt For Dissolution

SENECA FALLS - Residents of the historic Finger Lakes village of Seneca Falls voted by a slim margin Tuesday to dissolve their village layer of government and merge with the surrounding township.

The 180-year-old village is the birth place of women's rights and considered by many to be the model for the fictitious community of Bedford Falls in the classic holiday movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

Voters approved the dissolution of Seneca Falls by a margin of 1,142 to 1,037, according to local media reports from the region Tuesday night.

Seneca Falls was one of a growing number of villages across New York state debating the pros and cons of dissolving the village layer of government and merging with the surrounding town.

In the case of Seneca Falls, the name will not change since the town of Seneca Falls shares the same name.

Village officials in Potsdam are also considering whether the town and village governments should become one.

Trustee Stephen J. Warr was elected to the village board in November on a platform of bringing the dissolution question to a public vote.

A new state law that goes into effect next week makes it easier for citizens to petition village officials to place the dissolution question up for public referendum. The new law calls for just 10 percent of village residents to present a petition to trustees asking for a vote on the subject.

The board would then have no more than 90 days to place the issue on the ballot, according to state officials. If the measure passes the village government would be required by law to dissolve, and a single town government would then represent the community.

Advocates of dissolution say having one layer of government will lower the tax burden on village residents and spur economic growth. Opponents say crucial village services could be lost and the tax rate pushed up in the surrounding township outside the village.

Mayor Reinhold J. Tischler has appointed a 15-member dissolution committee to being studying whether a single layer of government would be in the best interest of residents both inside and outside of the village.

Mr. Tischler wants the dissolution committee to spend the next two to three years studying the issue.

Mr. Warr said he thinks six months is enough time to explore the subject of dissolution and expects village residents to carry a petition calling for a referendum on the subject as early as this fall.