New Paltz DRAFT Proposed Gov Reorg Plan — May 2025
May 12, 2025 Statement:
For the last few months, the Village has worked with the Laberge Group on New Paltz Government Reorganization Planning. We received a NYS Citizen Reorganization Grant (CREG) to fund the plan.
We are pleased to announce we have completed the “Study Document” stage. Initially, we focused on creating a “Dissolution” of the Village plan per NYS General Municipal Law Article 17-A in order to:
–Integrate Town and Village services to more prudently serve our community
–Harness $1 million per annum in perpetuity via the NYS Citizen Empowerment Tax Credit (CETC) to help taxpayers
At this point, after research and community outreach, we believe the best fit for our community and those employed by the Town and Village will be “Consolidation,” rather than “Dissolution.”
We propose using the “Study Document” to inform the creation of a joint- Village Board and Town Board “Consolidation” agreement. Three important advantages of “Consolidation” include:
1) a “Consolidation” agreement may include a legally-binding collective bargaining solution, prior to referendum, involving both unions who currently represent the Town and Village staff. (Employee protection and continuity of services should be airtight.)
2) a referendum on whether to pursue “Consolidation” would involve all Town voters, whereas Article 17-A only allows Village voters to participate in a “Dissolution” referendum.
3) a November 4, 2025 “Dissolution” referendum limits time to engage voters (NYS requires that County BOE officials have at least three months before an election to include referendum details. This would require plan endorsement, adoption, and public hearings all being done by the end of this July.)
Taking the next several months, through this fall and into 2026, to include “Consolidation” agreement details and additional community engagement will be time and effort well spent. We could work towards holding a “Consolidation” special election in 2026.