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- Referred to local governments
- Referred to local governments
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:A8962
Title of bill
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to exempting certain emergency personnel from consolidation and dissolution of certain local government entities
Purpose or general idea of bill
To protect both Fire Districts and the taxpayers of New York from the consequences of the consolidation of Volunteer Fire Departments.
Summary of specific provisions
Section 1 defines local government entity as a town, village, district, special improvement districts. Local government entity shall not include school districts, special purpose districts created by counties under law, fire districts including volunteer fire districts, ambulance districts or police departments created by towns under the town law.
Section 2. Effective date.
Justification
This legislation will serve to protect taxpayers in the communities that volunteer fire and emergency service workers volunteer in. Consolidation of fire and emergency services would provide gradual deterioration of volunteer services and create the requirement that taxpayers pay for staff of fire districts and emergency medical services. The financial crisis that the state and federal governments are presently addressing further emphasizes the importance of preserving the best value in local government finance-the volunteer fire and emergency service. The consolidation of volunteer fire districts and emergency services can result in high costs and higher taxes. Consolidation would cause considerable damage to a volunteer system, which saves the state and local government millions of dollars each year.
The New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness issued a report in 2008 on the concept of dissolution and consolidation of local governments in order to reduce the real property tax burden. That Commission suggested that further study was required with regard to the provision of fire services but no study has been commissioned or completed. There has been no cost benefit analysis. Consolidation presents an unknown as to the determination of how services would be provided in the future.
Our communities cannot afford to lose the benefit of volunteer fire and emergency services. The volunteer workforce of New York State is motivated to serve by a desire to protect the residents of the communities they live in.
Prior legislative history
None
Effective date
On the same date and in the same manner of the laws of 2009, amending the general municipal law and other laws relating to the requirements for consolidating or dissolving certain local government entities, as proposed in legislative bill numbers 5.5661 and A.8501, take effect.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.