Village of Fort Johnson, NEW YORK
Dissolution Plan & IMPLEMENTATION

When concerns about future leadership and operations stemming from scant participation in local government led officials of the Village of Fort Johnson to initiate a village dissolution process, they retained Laberge Group to provide consulting services in the development of a Board-Initiated Dissolution Plan. The purposes of this Plan were three-fold: to fully understand the potential fiscal, governance, and service provision implications of a dissolution; to inform the public about the reasons behind, and potential impact of, the potential dissolution so that they could make an informed decision when casting their votes; and to establish a strong foundation for a smooth transition to the Town of Amsterdam governance and service provision if dissolution progressed.

The process of developing the Dissolution Plan included substantial research that provided a clear understanding of pre-dissolution Village and Town operations. The Plan then leveraged a combination of data and insights to deliver an analysis of the implications of dissolution and inform the development of a detailed transition plan.

The level of public engagement on this emotionally-charged initiative was high, with well-attended public information meetings and a significant level of public discussion and input. In a public referendum, voters overwhelmingly approved the proposition to dissolve the Village government.

Subsequent to the vote on Village dissolution, Laberge Group is providing transition consulting services, which include:

• Developing a Map, Plan and Report required for the establishment of a new Fort Johnson Sewer District that will enable the Town of Amsterdam to provide sewer service to only those property owners within the former Village, and to collect the taxes and user fees associated with the sewer service.
• Establishing a Fire Protection district that will enable the Town to contract with the Fort Johnson Volunteer Fire Company for services within the former Village.
• Revising Zoning regulations to incorporate the former Village into the Town while preserving its unique and distinctive character.

Laberge Group partnered with the Village and Town to secure a total of $50,000 in CREG grant funding to partially defray the cost of both planning and implementation.