§ 763 — Effective date of elector initiated consolidation plan; permissive referendum

§ 763. Effective date of elector initiated consolidation plan;\npermissive referendum. 1. Local government entities consolidated\npursuant to an elector initiated consolidated plan shall continue to be\ngoverned as before consolidation until the effective date of the\nconsolidation specified in such plan, which date shall be no less than\nforty-five days after final approval of such plan pursuant to\nsubdivision three of section seven hundred sixty-two or subdivision four\nof section seven hundred sixty-four of this title.\n 2. Notwithstanding subdivision one of this section, the elector\ninitiated consolidation plan shall not take effect if, no later than\nforty-five days after final approval thereof pursuant to subdivision\nthree of section seven hundred sixty-two or subdivision four of section\nseven hundred sixty-four of this title, electors of a local government\nentity to be consolidated pursuant to such plan shall:\n (a) file an original petition, containing not less than the number of\nsignatures provided for in subdivision three of this section, seeking a\nreferendum on the question whether the elector initiated consolidation\nplan shall take effect, with the clerk of the town in which the entity\nor the greater portion of its territory is located, except that if the\nentity is a village the original petition of electors from the village\nshall be filed with the clerk of the village; and\n (b) thereafter less than a majority of the electors in the entity vote\nin the affirmative on such question at a referendum.\n 3. The petition shall be circulated, signed and authenticated in\nsubstantial compliance with the provisions of section seven hundred\nfifty-seven of this title, shall contain the signatures of at least\ntwenty-five percent of the number of electors or fifteen thousand\nelectors, whichever is less, in the local government entity to be\nconsolidated, and shall be accompanied by a cover sheet containing the\nname, address and telephone number of an individual who signed the\npetition and who will serve as a contact person.\n 4. Within ten days of the filing of the petition seeking a referendum\non whether the elector initiated dissolution plan shall take effect, the\nclerk with whom the petition was filed shall make a final determination\nregarding the sufficiency of the number of signatures on the petition\nand provide timely written notice of such determination to the contact\nperson named in the cover sheet accompanying the petition. The contact\nperson or any individual who signed the petition may seek judicial\nreview of such determination in a proceeding pursuant to article\nseventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. Upon the clerk's\ndetermination that the petition contains no less than the required\nnumber of signatures, the governing body of the local government entity\nto which such petition applies shall within thirty days enact a\nresolution calling for a referendum by the electors of such entity on\nthe question whether to approve the elector initiated consolidation plan\nand set a date for such referendum in accordance with subdivision five\nof this section.\n 5. The referendum on the question whether the elector initiated\nconsolidation plan shall take effect shall be submitted at a special\nelection to be held not less than sixty or more than ninety days after\nenactment of a resolution pursuant to subdivision four of this section,\nprovided, however, that in cases where a town or village general\nelection falls within such period, the referendum question may be\nconsidered during a town or village general election.\n 6. Notice of the referendum shall be given to the electors of the\nlocal government entity to which the petition applies by publication in\na newspaper having a general circulation within the boundaries of the\nentity at least once a week for four consecutive weeks immediately prior\nto the referendum. The notice shall include, but not be limited to:\n (a) a summary of the contents of the resolution and elector initiated\nconsolidation plan;\n (b) a statement as to where may be examined a copy of the resolution\nand elector initiated consolidation plan;\n (c) the time and place or places at which the referendum will be held,\nin accordance with subdivision five of this section; and\n (d) such other matters as may be necessary to call, provide for and\ngive notice of the referendum and to provide for the conduct thereof and\nthe canvass of the returns thereupon.\n 7. In a referendum held pursuant to this section, the referendum\nquestion shall be placed before the electors of the local government\nentity to which the petition applies in a form reading substantially as\nfollows:\n "The voters of the (insert type and name of each local government\nentity to which the consolidation plan applies) having previously voted\nto consolidate, shall the elector initiated consolidation plan take\neffect?\n YES ____\n NO _____"\n 8. The elector initiated consolidation plan shall not take effect\nunless a majority of the electors voting in the local government entity\nto which the petition applies vote in favor of such plan taking effect.\nIf such a majority vote does not result, the referendum shall fail and\nconsolidation shall not take effect.\n