§ 2-260 — Village incorporation commission and general administration

§ 2-260 Village incorporation commission and general administration.\n1. a. There is hereby established within the department of state a\nvillage incorporation commission. The commission shall consist of three\nmembers appointed as follows:\n (1) one member appointed by the secretary of state;\n (2) one member appointed by the comptroller; and\n (3) one member appointed by the attorney general.\n b. Each member of the commission shall serve a term of four years. The\nmembers shall be eligible for reappointment and shall serve until their\nsuccessors are appointed and qualified, and the term of the successor of\nany incumbent shall be calculated from the expiration of the term of\nthat incumbent. A vacancy occurring other than by expiration of term\nshall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment, but for\nthe unexpired term only.\n c. A majority of the members of the commission shall constitute a\nquorum for the purpose of conducting the business thereof and a majority\nvote of all the members in office shall be necessary for action.\n d. The member appointed by the secretary of state shall be chairperson\nof the commission, provided that in the absence of the secretary of\nstate's appointee at any meeting of the board the appointee of the\nattorney general or the comptroller, in such order, if either or both be\npresent, shall act as chairperson.\n e. No member of the commission shall be disqualified from holding any\nother public office, nor shall employment be forfeited by reason of the\nmember's appointment hereunder, notwithstanding the provisions of any\ngeneral, special or local law, ordinance, county or city charter.\n 2. The commission shall have powers and duties as provided in this\nsubdivision. A petitioner may seek relief from the commission under\nparagraph f of this subdivision in the event that the petitioner or\npetitioners and town or towns are unable to jointly select a third-party\nto prepare the study required by section 2-202 of this article within\nthirty-days of the filing of such a request with the town clerk:\n a. To accept petitions filed pursuant to this article;\n b. To hold hearings as required by this article;\n c. To accept and deposit with the state comptroller all such monies\nrequired to be paid by those seeking to incorporate a village pursuant\nto this article;\n d. To evaluate petitions filed pursuant to this article to ensure all\ncomponents required by section 2-202 of this article have been included;\n e. To make decisions with regard to whether a village incorporation\nelection shall proceed based upon the commission's judgment of the\ncriteria established in sections 2-200 and 2-206 of this article and any\nother requirements established in this article.\n f. To select a third-party designee from a list submitted by the\npetitioner or petitioners and town or towns to prepare the study\nrequired to be attached to the petition pursuant to section 2-202 of\nthis article;\n g. To direct the town clerk or clerks to post notices of hearing in\nalternative locations pursuant to section 2-204 of this article;\n h. To direct the town clerk or clerks to post notices of election in\nalternative locations pursuant to section 2-214 of this article; and\n i. To direct the town clerk or clerks to post notices of availability\nof list for inspection and additions pursuant to section 2-218 of this\narticle.\n 3. Prior to issuing its decision with regard to whether a village\nincorporation election shall proceed, and upon receiving a complete\npetition seeking village incorporation, the commission shall review the\nstudy attached to such petition, as required by section 2-202 of this\narticle, to determine whether such study conforms to the requirements of\nsection 2-202 of this article.\n 4. Commission review. The commission shall determine whether:\n a. the petitioner has submitted a study pursuant to section 2-202 of\nthis article having all the elements required by this article and that\nsuch study was provided for public review on the department of state's\nwebsite for at least ninety days before any public hearing on the\npetition;\n b. the proposed village is capable of providing services to the area\nproposed to be incorporated;\n c. the tax revenue collected by such proposed village would\nsufficiently defray the cost of municipal services at a property tax\nrate that favorably compares to the property tax rate of the town or\ntowns; and\n d. the incorporation would increase tax burdens on those located\nwithin the town or towns within which such proposed village would be\nestablished.\n 5. A village incorporation election shall not proceed if the\ncommission determines based on the evidentiary record that the petition\nor the study or other exhibits or certifications with the petition does\nnot meet the requirements of this article or that the proposed village\nwould not satisfy the criteria of paragraph b, c, or d of subdivision\nfour of this section.\n 6. A notice of the commission's decision with regard to whether a\nvillage incorporation shall proceed to election shall be by majority\nvote, and the department of state shall post a notice of the\ncommission's decision on the public-facing portion of the department of\nstate's website. No village incorporation election shall proceed in the\nevent the commission rules adversely to such incorporation, except\npursuant to the provisions of section 2-210 of this article.\n