Press Releases

Buffalo taxpayers need real relief, which is precisely why I helped pass a law that takes effect March 21 which puts the power of government consolidation and tax savings into your hands.

New York State has more than 10,500 layers of government, resulting in a maze of costly, overlapping, confusing bureaucracy. Under this new law, working families and local governments can begin to consolidate government services, eliminate wasteful duplicative services and deliver real tax savings. And the final say will be from taxpayers, who now have the right to petition for and vote on consolidation.

The New NY Government Reorganization and Citizen Empowerment Act makes it easier to reorganize or dissolve outdated and inefficient local governments by following a uniform procedure. The consolidation or dissolution of local government entities may be initiated in one of two ways:

-         A governing body-initiated process is triggered by the development and approval of a proposed written plan for consolidation or dissolution, followed by the plan’s publication and public hearings aimed at maximizing citizen participation.

 -         A citizen-initiated process is triggered by the filing of a petition containing the signatures of at least 10 percent of the electorate or 5,000 electors, whichever is less, in the local government entity or entities to be consolidated or dissolved. For entities with 500 or fewer electors, the petition must contain the signatures of at least 20 percent of the voters.

o       The filing of the petition requires a referendum to be held;

o       If a majority of the electorate in each entity votes in favor of consolidation or dissolution, then the entity’s governing body must meet and develop a proposed written plan to implement the decision, followed by the plan’s publication and public hearings; and

o       Consolidation or dissolution takes effect when the governing body approves a final version of the plan.

Last year’s state budget included $2.45 million for a local government efficiency grant program for planning of municipal consolidation, and $1.96 million in Aid and Incentives to Municipalities to help local governments implement consolidation following a merger, consolidation or dissolution.

New York State has thousands of overlapping local governmental entities that fill the state with expensive layers of local government and saddle residents with some of the highest taxes in the country. This law puts power into the hands of the people. Now we can all help eliminate bureaucracy and save tax dollars.