Candidate favors dissolution study

JOHNSON NEWSPAPERS

POTSDAM — Democrat Stephen J. Warr has an unusual goal: He wants to become a village trustee so he can push to have that job eliminated.

Mr. Warr and incumbent Democrat Ruth F. Garner are the only candidates seeking two seats on the village board in the Nov. 3 election.

Mr. Warr wants to apply for a state grant to study the pros and cons of consolidating the town and village as a way to save money and make government more efficient.

"We've got five layers of government and we're being taxed by all of them," Mr. Warr said. "People have told me they want to look at consolidation and dissolution. I say let the process unfold."

He said he hopes to take advantage of a recent change in state law that allows a referendum on village dissolution by petition. Signatures of 10 percent of the village electorate would be needed on the petition to schedule such a vote.

"I'm open to exploring the possibility of redefining what local government means," Mr. Warr said. "Ten percent of the voters can require the board to look at the process of consolidation or dissolution."

He is advocating conducting a new study on the benefits and pitfalls of removing a layer of government in Potsdam and then providing the public with the means and opportunity to make an informed decision at the ballot box.

But while Mr. Warr wants the public to have a right to vote on what government should look like in Potsdam, long-serving board member Mrs. Garner is far less enthusiastic.

She said that talk of eliminating the village government goes back as far as 1973, and that studies have shown dissolution would mean little savings for taxpayers.

"I have not discussed it with Mr. Warr, but in the past I could not see any savings or advantages to dissolving the village," she said.

Mrs. Garner said she is a strong supporter of looking for ways to save money by sharing services with the town, but not merging into one government. She said she doubts there is support from residents for dissolution of the village government.

"I've lived in this village an awful long time and I've never had one person mention that to me as something they wanted," Mrs. Garner said. "I would caution people to move slowly until they have gotten all of the facts. We are a very old community. We are a very successful community. And I think a lot of that success relates directly to the services the village provides its residents."