The Altmar Village Board met Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. at the Altmar-Albion Municipal Building, 15 Bridge Street, Altmar, New York. There are no plans for additional village board meetings between now and May 31, 2013, after which the village will no longer be incorporated.
The Wednesday, November 10, 2010 referendum to dissolve the village passed 80 - 74. With passage of the referendum, the village is scheduled to dissolve effective May 31, 2013. The village dissolution page has been updated with a link to the draft dissolution study.
The village has created a dissolution study committee, and has retained CGR to assist the committee in the dissolution study process. CGR has a web page set up about the Altmar dissolution study:
The dissolution plan itself is available at:
Legal Notice - Proposed Dissolution Plan and Public Hearing
The Village of Altmar Board of Trustees has accepted a proposed Dissolution Plan for the Village of Altmar. As proposed, the Village of Altmar would dissolve on January 1, 2013. The proposed plan outlines how the village will dissolve and what government services, local laws and positions will be continued or not continued as a result of the village’s dissolution. As proposed the Village Fire Department will become a not-for-profit fire corporation and provide service for the entire Town of Albion (including the former village) through a fire protection district and contract. The Town will create a lighting district for the existing village area. Sidewalks will no longer be maintained by the government and brush and leave debris will become the responsibility of former village residents. Existing town laws and some possible amendments will provide for the same local laws currently in affect within the village. The village cemetery will become a town cemetery and maintained and managed by the Town of Albion. The proposed plan provides fiscal details and impacts of a potential dissolution. Copies of the proposed Village of Altmar Dissolution Plan are available for public review and inspection at the Altmar Village Clerk and Albion Town Clerk offices during regularly scheduled office hours and can be found on the web at www.cgr.org/altmar. A public hearing on the proposed plan will be held at the Albion-Altmar Municipal Building at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.
Summary of Amended Final Elector Initiated Dissolution Plan for the Village of Altmar
This document is intended to summarize the proposed dissolution plan that was amended and approved by the Village Board at its meeting of August 3, 2011. The Plan was developed in response to the voter-initiated dissolution referendum that passed in November 2010. Official copies are available at the offices of the Village Clerk and Town Clerk and online at www.cgr.org/altmar/documents.aspx.A public hearing on the proposed plan was held at the Albion-Altmar Municipal Building at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 6, 2011.
Cost. The one-time cost of dissolution is projected to be $75,000. This includes $42,000 in consultant fees, funded primarily with a New York State Local Government Efficiency Grant; $25,000 in legal fees; and $8,000 in miscellaneous expenses, including advertisement and referendum fees. Staff. Under the Plan, all Village employee positions will be eliminated, including the Village Mayor, Village Trustees, Village Clerk, Village Code Enforcement Office, and three part-time municipal maintenance workers. The Town will be responsible for providing services within the former Village. Real savings from the elimination of these positions is approximately $22,800.
Assets. At the time of dissolution, all remaining Village assets will become Town property. This includes Village municipal structures and building contents (insured value of $905,500); Village owned machinery and equipment (insured value of $64,400); Village-owned fire apparatus and equipment (insured value of $898,600); and fund balances (currently $16,696). Village streets, sidewalks, and storm sewers will also become Town property.
Services. Most services currently provided by the Village will be provided by the Town. This includes the following: local government representation, clerical and administrative services, code enforcement services, road, storm sewer, building maintenance and related highway services, mowing of municipal building grounds and cemetery, and spring street sweeping and storm sewer maintenance. Brush and leaf pick-up will be eliminated. Sidewalk maintenance, repair and replacement will become the responsibility of residents. Street lighting will be provided by the Town through a special lighting district encompassing the former Village. The special lighting district will levy a tax on former Village properties to pay for street lighting. This levy amounts to approximately $.86 per $1,000 assessed value.
The current Village Fire Department will incorporate as a not-for-profit Fire Corporation. The Town will contract with the Fire Corporation to provide services to the town-wide fire protection district. There will be effectively no change in Fire and EMS services to the Town.
Fiscal and Tax Impact. Total savings after dissolution are projected to be $31,290. The Town will also receive the Citizen’s Empowerment Tax Credit (CETC) from New York State in the amount of $58,000 annually. 70% of the CETC must be applied toward property tax relief. As a result of the savings and the CETC, all residents should see a reduction in property taxes. Current Village residents’ tax rates (in dollars per $1,000 Taxable Assessed value) will be reduced from $9.72 to $5.37, a reduction of 45%. Current Town- Outside-Village (TOV) residents’ tax rates will be reduced from $4.99 to $4.51, a reduction of 10%. For the average property (assessed at $75,000), this means a savings of $326 for a current Village taxpayer and a savings of $36 for a current TOV taxpayer.
Procedure. After the public hearing, the Village Board will adopt the Final Dissolution Plan. Village residents will then have 45 days to petition for a referendum on the Plan. The petition must be signed by 25% of registered Village voters. If the referendum passes, the Village will dissolve on 6/1/13. If the referendum does not pass, the Village will not dissolve and four years must pass before another dissolution vote can be held. If no petition is brought within 45 days, the Village will dissolve on 6/1/13.
Document Date: 8/3/11. Prepared by CGR for the Village of Altmar
Altmar in the News:
Syracuse Post-Standard, Monday, September 17, 2012 - Albion receives state grant to help with dissolution of Altmar-
Syracuse Post-Standard, Monday, April 30, 2012 - Discussion of reuses for Altmar and Williamstown elementary schools topic for meeting
-
Syracuse Post-Standard, Monday, April 30, 2012 - Reuse plans for Altmar, Williamstown schools on April 30 meeting agenda
-
Palladium Times, Friday, April 27, 2012 - Altmar moves ahead in village dissolution process
-
Syracuse Post-Standard, Tuesday, April 24, 2012 - Albion applying for grant to help it absorb dissolving Altmar
More coverage of the process can be found on the village dissolution page.
The audit can be found at the New York State Comptrollers web site:
- Office of the New York State Comptroller - Village of Altmar - Internal Controls Over Selected Financial Activities (Adobe Acrobat PDF format; opens in new window)
The Village of Altmar is located in the Town of Albion, in Oswego County.
Village board meetings are held at the Altmar/Albion Municipal Building, located at 15 Bridge Street, Altmar, New York.
- Mapquest link to Altmar-Albion Municipal Building, 15 Bridge Street, Altmar, New York
- National Weather Service forecast for Altmar, New York
www.511ny.org transit conditions map (opens in new window)
In order to view certain documents on this website, you
must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you are
unable to view the documents, click on the icon to the left and download the
program for free.