After passing through both Houses in Albany, now sitting on Governor Kathy Hochul’s desk are amendments to New York State’s new village incorporation law. These guidelines trace back 130 years, and have assisted in the implementation of villages around the state since the legislation’s installment.

These changes, if approved, would affect the current push for the incorporation of the Village of Ateres, the proposed village located within the town of Thompson and on the edge of Fallsburg. One of the major changes is the minimum size for village incorporation increasing from 500 to 2,000 residents.

Other notable changes eliminate the assessed value/landowner basis for petitioning for village incorporation, as well as require a study be conducted on the fiscal, service, and taxation impacts on the residents of the proposed village and the residents of the surrounding town in order for a village incorporation to move forward.

This bill, along with many others that have found residence on the Governor’s desk, awaits a decision – one that we hope to be made sooner rather than later. 

On the topic of village integration, it should be noted that out of the 15 townships, and six incorporated villages in the county, many of the residents are receiving multiple layers of taxation. On top of that, recent studies have shown the financial difficulties of not only maintaining a village, but just how expensive it would be to remove one.

Point blank, our villages are struggling. Various reasons may contribute to this, but it is no secret that some villages in the county have hit a recent hardship financially. Looking at Ateres, that additional layer of government in the Town of Thompson and Fallsburg may lead to a trickier, tax heavy situation that, as present times show, might not even pan out.

With a village comes amenities as well. Ambulance and EMS, fire service, law and code enforcement – all of these things are brought into the picture. How will these necessary services be installed in the village, and on whose checkbook?

As we all move forward and wait on the Governor’s decision, let’s keep in mind the heavy costs of starting, maintaining, and if necessary, the ending of a village.