If a valid petition to dissolve a New York village is filed but doesn't request an early referendum, can the village board push it to an early vote anyway?

Plain-English summary

The Village of Alden's attorney asked the AG whether the village board of trustees, on its own motion, could submit a village-dissolution proposition to the voters at an early date once a valid petition had already been filed that did not request such early submission. The AG said no. Under Village Law § 9-912(1), once a valid petition has been filed, the board must submit the proposition in accordance with the petition's terms.

The AG laid out the statutory mechanics. Village Law § 19-1900(1) lets a village board, on its own motion, submit a dissolution proposition to the voters, and requires the board to do so upon a sufficient petition signed by at least one-third of the village's qualified resident electors. The procedure for submitting the proposition is in Village Law § 9-912. Section 9-912(1) provides that the board "may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the petition of . . . electors," submit the proposition at a regular or special village election. A petition can additionally request that the referendum be held at a time other than a regular or special village election, but if it makes that request, the petition needs twice the usual signature count.

The AG read § 9-912(1)'s "may upon its own motion, and shall upon the petition" as a two-step process: the board has independent submission power before any petition is filed, but once a valid petition arrives, the board must submit the proposition in accordance with the petition. If the petition does not request an early referendum (and lacks the doubled signatures), the proposition goes to the next general or special village election held at least 30 days after the dissolution public hearing under Article 19. The board cannot then unilaterally push it forward.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1996. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Who can start a village-dissolution process?
At the time of the opinion, there were two ways. The village board of trustees, on its own motion, could adopt a resolution submitting a dissolution proposition to the voters. Or the electors could file a petition signed by qualified electors equal to at least one-third of the total number of resident electors who were qualified to vote at the last general or special village election. Once a sufficient petition was filed, the board was required to submit the proposition.

What is the timing rule?
The default is that the dissolution proposition is submitted at the next regular or special village election for officers held at least 30 days after the public hearing on the dissolution. A petition could request earlier submission, but only if the petition carried twice the usual signature count. If the petition included the doubled signatures and requested an early vote, the referendum had to be held no less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the public hearing.

What is the difference between a "general" and a "special" village election?
A general village election, at the time of the opinion, was the annual or biennial election for village officers (Election Law § 15-102(1)). In most villages, this was held in March, before the new fiscal year started in April (Election Law § 15-104). A special village election was an election of village officers held at a time other than the general village election (Election Law § 15-106). A typical example is an off-year March election to fill a vacancy in a village office.

Why does the petition's timing request control over the board's preference?
Because § 9-912(1) uses different verbs for the two situations. The board "may" submit the proposition on its own motion (a discretionary power) and "shall" submit it upon the petition (a mandatory power tied to the petition). The AG read those words to mean: once a petition has set the terms, the board must follow those terms. The signature requirement (one-third for ordinary submission, doubled for early submission) is what gives the petitioners control over timing.

What if the board has already been considering its own dissolution proposition when a petition is filed?
The AG says the petition's terms become controlling. The board's earlier discretion gives way to the petition's mandatory directive. The AG's prior Informal Opinion No. 93-25 had recognized the board's authority to submit a proposition on its own motion at a time other than the general or special election. But that authority disappears once a petition has been filed with different timing.

Can the petition itself be inadequate to require early submission yet still trigger the mandatory submission rule?
Yes. A petition with the basic signature count (one-third of qualified electors) requires the board to submit the proposition at the next general or special village election. A petition with the doubled count also requires submission, but at the earlier time the petition requests. A petition that falls short of one-third does not trigger the mandatory submission rule at all.

Background and statutory framework

The statutory architecture in 1996:

Village Law § 19-1900(1) authorized the board on its own motion or required it on a sufficient petition to adopt a resolution submitting a dissolution proposition. A sufficient petition required signatures from qualified electors equal to at least one-third of the total number of resident electors who were qualified to vote at the last general or special election immediately preceding submission of the proposition.

Village Law § 9-912(1) supplied the procedure: "The board of trustees may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the petition of . . . electors . . . cause a proposition . . . to be submitted at a regular or special village election as such elections are defined in the election law." It also allowed the petition to request submittal at a time other than a regular or special village election, "such petition must contain twice the number of signatures otherwise required." If the petition included the doubled signature count and requested early submission, the referendum had to be held no less than 30 nor more than 60 days after the public hearing under Article 19. Otherwise, the proposition was submitted at the next regular or special village election for officers held not less than 30 days after the public hearing.

Election Law § 15-102(1) defined the general village election. § 15-104 set the typical March date. § 15-106 defined a special village election as one held at a time other than the general election (typically for filling vacancies or for specific propositions).

The AG's prior Informal Opinion No. 93-25 had recognized the board's authority, when acting on its own motion (before any petition), to submit a proposition at a time other than the general or special village election. The 1996 opinion makes clear that once a petition has been filed, the board's discretion gives way to the petition's terms.

Source

• Landing page: https://ag.ny.gov/libraries-documents/opinions/opinions-year
• Original PDF: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/opinions/I_96-23_pw.pdf

Original opinion text

ELECTION LAW §§ 15-102(1), 15-104, 15-106; VILLAGE LAW §§ 9-912, 19-1900(1).

The board of trustees of a village is required to submit a proposition for the dissolution of a village to a referendum in accordance with the requirements of the petition that is filed by the electors of the village.

July 15, 1996

Chris G. Trapp, Esq.
Village Attorney
Village of Alden
1400 Main Place Tower
Buffalo, NY 14202-3714

Informal Opinion No. 96-23

Dear Mr. Trapp:

You have asked whether under certain circumstances the village board of trustees, on its own motion, may submit a proposition to the voters for the dissolution of the village at an early election other than the time of a regular or special village election.

The board of trustees of any village may, and upon the petition of electors of the village must adopt a resolution submitting a proposition for the dissolution of the village to the voters for approval. Village Law § 19-1900(1). A petition to dissolve a village is sufficient if signed and acknowledged or approved "by qualified electors of such village, in number equal to at least one-third of the total number of resident electors residing in the village, qualified to vote at the last general or special election immediately preceding the submission of the proposition in question". Id. The procedure for submittal of the proposition is governed by section 9-912 of the Village Law. Id.

Under section 9-912(1):

The board of trustees may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the petition of . . . electors . . . cause a proposition . . . to be submitted at a regular or special village election as such elections are defined in the election law.

A "general village election" is the annual or biennial election for election of village officers. Election Law § 15-102(1). In most villages, this election is in March, prior to the start of the new fiscal year in April. Id., § 15-104. A "special village election" is an election of village officers held at a time other than the time of the general village election. Id., § 15-106. For example, an off-year March election for the filling of a vacancy in a village office would be a special village election.

Under section 9-912(1), the petition can request the holding of a referendum on a proposition at a time other than the time of a regular or special village election.

If such petition requests the holding of a referendum at a time other than at such regular or special village election, such petition must contain twice the number of signatures otherwise required.

If the petition includes the requisite number of signatures and requests an early election as indicated above "such referendum shall be held no less than thirty, nor more than sixty days after the" public hearing under Article 19 of the Village Law. Id., §§ 9-912(1), 19-1900(1). If the petition does not state this request, the referendum on the proposition would be submitted "at the next regular or special village election for officers, held not less than thirty days after the" public hearing under Article 19. Id.

Therefore, under these provisions a petition with the requisite number of signatures can require an early referendum on a proposition to dissolve a village rather than submitting the proposition at the next general village election or special village election for the election of officers.

Your question is, if a valid petition is filed which does not request the submittal of the proposition at a time other than the time of the general or special village election when officers are being selected (or lacks the requisite number of signatures to require submittal at such alternate time), does the village board of trustees have the authority to require that the proposition be submitted at the alternate time?

While the board of trustees on its own motion is authorized to submit a proposition to the voters at a time other than the time of the regular or a special village election (see, Informal Opinion No. 93-25), in our view the prior filing of a petition which does not require the submittal of the proposition to dissolve the village at that time is controlling. Under section 9-912(1), "the board of trustees may, upon its own motion, and shall, upon the petition . . . by electors" submit a proposition for the dissolution of a village at a regular or special village election. Under this language, once a petition has been filed, the board of trustees shall submit the proposition in accordance with the petition. In our view, the statutory language is clear and unambiguous in requiring that the board of trustees take action in accordance with a petition having the requisite number of signatures that meets the requirements of law.

We conclude that the board of trustees of a village is required to submit a proposition for the dissolution of a village to a referendum in accordance with the requirements of the petition that is filed by the electors of the village.

The Attorney General renders formal opinions only to officers and departments of State government. This perforce is an informal and unofficial expression of the views of this office.

Very truly yours,

JAMES D. COLE
Assistant Attorney General
in Charge of Opinions