NYCL AGO 96-23.

• Case Date: July 15, 1996
• Court: New York

New York Attorney General Opinions 1996. AGO 96-23. July 15, 1996Informal Opinion No. 96-23Chris G. Trapp, Esq. Village Attorney Village of Alden 1400 Main Place Tower Buffalo, NY 14202-3714ELECTION LAW §§ 15-102(1), 15-104, 15-106; VILLAGE LAW §§ 9-912, 19-1900(1).The board of trustees of a village is required to submit a proposition for the dissolution of a village to a referendum in accordance with the requirements of the petition that is filed by the electors of the village.Dear Mr. Trapp: You have asked whether under certain circumstances the village board of trustees, on its own motion, may submit a proposition to the voters for the dissolution of the village at an early election other than the time of a regular or special village election. The board of trustees of any village may, and upon the petition of electors of the village must adopt a resolution submitting a proposition for the dissolution of the village to the voters for approval. Village Law § 19-1900(1). A petition to dissolve a village is sufficient if signed and acknowledged or approved "by qualified electors of such village, in number equal to at least one-third of the total number of resident electors residing in the village, qualified to vote at the last general or special election immediately preceding the submission of the proposition in question". Id. The procedure for submittal of the proposition is governed by section 9-912 of the Village Law. Id. Under section 9-912(1):

The board of trustees may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the petition of . . . electors . . . cause a proposition . . . to be submitted at a regular or special village election as such elections are defined in the election law.

A "general village election" is the annual or biennial election for election of village officers. Election Law § 15-102(1). In most villages, this election is in March, prior to the start of the new fiscal year in April. Id., § 15-104. A "special village election" is an election of village officers held at a time other than the time of the general village election. Id., § 15-106. For example, an off-year March election for the filling of a vacancy in a village office would be a special village election. Under section 9-912(1), the petition can request the holding of a referendum on a proposition at a time other than the time of a regular...