Town of Tupper Lake

TUPPER LAKE DISSOLUTION:

Not long ago, the town and village that make up the community of Tupper Lake took a symbolic step toward unity: the Town of Altamont adopted the name of the village it surrounds -- Tupper Lake.

Now, residents fretting about ever-rising taxes (village taxes just climbed to more than $17 per $1,000 of assessed value) are calling on local officials to change more than the name.

Thirty or so people attended at joint meeting of the town and village boards Wednesday night to urge board members to consolidate duplicative services and, perhaps, do away with the village government entirely.
...
Mayor Mickey Desmarais seemed to agree, saying he'd contact the office of Sen. Betty Little (R-Queensbury) today and ask for help in

exploring and understanding the pros and cons of

dissolving the village.

Calling the process both scary and pioneering, Desmarais said the underlying goal should be figuring out how to maintain the kinds of services the community expects -- sidewalk repair, water and sewer -- while cutting costs.

He said the Village Board is "100 percent committed" to doing that -- whether or not that means dissolution -- and would turn to experts outside village government for help.
...
"We're here to make sure if the village dissolves, it's a good thing," he said.

Residents may not leave that decision to the Village Board. Several people at Wednesday night's meeting called for the issue to be put on the ballot for November's election. And one resident pointed out that it only takes 700 signatures to get a referendum on the ballot.

"We've got to move on this," Town Councilwoman Kathy Lefebvre said. "It can't wait."