§ 757 — Initiative of electors seeking consolidation

§ 757. Initiative of electors seeking consolidation. 1. The electors\nof two or more local government entities may commence a consolidation\nproceeding by filing an original petition, containing not less than the\nnumber of signatures provided for in subdivision two of this section and\nin the form provided for in subdivision three of this section, with the\nclerk of the town in which the entities or the greater portion of their\nterritory are located, except that if one or more of the entities to be\nconsolidated is a village the original petition of electors from the\nvillage shall be filed with the clerk of the village. Accompanying the\nfiled petition shall be a cover sheet containing the name, address and\ntelephone number of an individual who signed the petition and who will\nserve as a contact person.\n 2. The petition shall contain the signatures of at least ten percent\nof the number of electors or five thousand electors, whichever is less,\nin each local government entity to be consolidated; provided, however,\nthat where the local government entity to be consolidated contains five\nhundred or fewer electors, the petition shall contain the signatures of\nat least twenty percent of the number of electors. No signature on a\npetition is valid unless it is the original signature of an elector.\n 3. The petition shall substantially comply with, and be circulated in,\nthe following form:\n PETITION FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONSOLIDATION\n We, the undersigned electors and legal voters of (insert type of local\ngovernment entity - e.g., town, village or district) of (insert name of\nlocal government entity), New York, qualified to vote at the next\ngeneral or special election, respectfully petition that there be\nsubmitted to the electors and legal voters of (insert type and name of\nlocal government entities proposed to be consolidated), for their\napproval or rejection at a referendum held for that purpose, a proposal\nto consolidate (insert type and name of local government entity) with\n(insert type and name of local government entity or entities).\n In witness whereof, we have signed our names on the dates indicated\nnext to our signatures.\n Date Name - print name under signature Home Address\n 1. _____ _________________________________ ____________\n 2. _____ _________________________________ ____________\n 3. _____ _________________________________ ____________\n (On the bottom of each page of the petition, after all of the numbered\nsignatures, insert a signed statement of a witness who is a duly\nqualified elector of the state of New York. Such a statement shall be\naccepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit, and if it\ncontains a material false statement, shall subject the person signing it\nto the same penalties as if he or she has been duly sworn. The form of\nsuch statement shall be substantially as follows:\n I, (insert name of witness), state that I am a duly qualified voter of\nthe state of New York. Each of the persons that have signed this\npetition sheet containing (insert number) signatures have signed their\nnames in my presence on the dates indicated above and identified\nthemselves to be the same person who signed the sheet. I understand that\nthis statement will be accepted for all purposes as the equivalent of an\naffidavit, and if it contains a materially false statement, shall\nsubject me to the penalties of perjury.\n_________________ _________________________________\n Date Signature of Witness)\n (In lieu of the signed statement of a witness who is a duly qualified\nvoter of the state of New York, the following statement signed by a\nnotary public or a commissioner of deeds shall be accepted:\n On the date indicated above before me personally came each of the\nelectors and legal voters whose signatures appear on this petition sheet\ncontaining (insert number) signatures, who signed the petition in my\npresence and who, being by me duly sworn, each for himself or herself,\nidentified himself or herself as the one and same person who signed the\npetition and that the foregoing information they provided was true.\n_________________ _________________________________\n Date Notary Public or Commissioner of Deeds)\n 4. An alteration or correction of information appearing on a\npetition's signature line, other than an un-initialed signature and\ndate, shall not invalidate such signature.\n 5. In matters of form, this section shall be liberally construed, not\ninconsistent with substantial compliance thereto and the prevention of\nfraud.\n 6. Within ten days of the filing of the petition seeking consolidation\npursuant to subdivision one of this section, the clerk with whom the\npetition was filed shall make a final determination regarding the\nsufficiency of the number of signatures on the petition and provide\ntimely written notice of such determination to the contact person named\nin the cover sheet accompanying the petition. The contact person or any\nindividual who signed the petition may seek judicial review of such\ndetermination in a proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of the\ncivil practice laws and rules.\n 7. Upon the clerk's determination that the petition contains not less\nthan the number of signatures of electors required in subdivision two of\nthis section, the governing body or bodies of the local government\nentities to be consolidated shall, no later than thirty days thereafter,\nenact a resolution in accordance with subdivision two of section seven\nhundred fifty-five of this title calling for a referendum on the\nproposed consolidation by the electors in each of the entities and set a\ndate for such referendum.\n