Residents in the village of South Dayton will vote to dissolve the village on July 14.

There are nine villages in Cattaraugus County. That total may soon reduce to eight.

On Tuesday, July 14, residents in the village of South Dayton will be headed to the polls to decide if they want to dissolve their village government. If approved, all assets will eventually be turned over to the town of Dayton.

CGR (Center for Governmental Research) prepared the study for the dissolution vote as well as a blueprint for governance after dissolution.

The following is a summary of the Proposed Dissolution Plan:

– All village positions, elected and civil, will be eliminated upon dissolution except for certain public works positions that will be transferred (if eligible) to similar town positions. All village departments will be eliminated.

– The Town of Dayton will create the following special districts to be governed by the Town Board and paid for by the users of the individual systems: Water, Sewer, Sidewalk and Lighting.

– The Town of Dayton will provide road and municipal property maintenance, code enforcement, zoning, justice court services, and operate the library, Depot, playground and gazebo in accordance with current village practices.

– The Town of Dayton will not provide refuse and yard waste services, although yard waste drop off will continue.

– All real property, personal property and vehicles owned by the village at the time of dissolution will transfer to the Town or special district.

– Any village fund balances that remain at the time of dissolution will transfer to the town.

– The Town of Dayton will assume all staffing responsibility and most employees will be transferred to the town with similar titles and responsibilities.

– Village laws without equivalents in town law will remain in effect for two years following dissolution, during which time the town will review the laws and either adopt or void them.

– The water and sewer system debt will be passed to the town and paid for by the users of the water and sewer system special districts. The village will retire the EPA Stormwater Improvement and DEC ZEV Charging System Revenue Anticipation Note of $709,750 in June 2026, so that debt will not be passed on to the town.

– If the village dissolves, the property tax burden on village properties would decrease from a current total town and village government tax burden of approximately $18.40 per $1,000 to an estimated $5 per $1,000, assuming 100% of the Citizen Empowerment Tax Credit (CETC) is applied to reduce taxes for all town taxpayers. If the town only applied 70% of the CETC, the estimated post dissolution tax rate would be $5.40.

– However, village residents are projected to see a 33% increase in water and sewer fees. Residents would need to secure their own refuse and yard waste services. With those increased costs, the average property receiving water and sewer services would still see an overall savings of about $100 per year.

This modeling does not take into account other property taxes such as those levied by Cattaraugus County, the school district, or the fire district.

If the public referendum passes, the effective date of the proposed dissolution

shall be May 31, 2027. If it fails, a dissolution process may not be initiated again for at least four years.

Only village residents are permitted to vote. Polls will be open noon to 9 p.m. at the village library, 19 Park St.

Should South Dayton residents vote to dissolve, it will be the fifth village in the last 18 years to do so. According to the Cattaraugus County GIS page, on Jan. 1, 2009, Limestone was absorbed into the town of Carrollton. On Jan. 1, 2012, the village of Perrysburg was absorbed into the town of Perrysburg. On Jan. 1, 2012, the village of Randolph was absorbed into the town of Randolph. On Jan. 1, 2012, East Randolph was absorbed into the towns of Conewango and the town of Randolph. The former village was split between the two towns.

According to the 2020 Census, the village of South Dayton has 541 residents. The village is situated in the southwest corner of the town of Dayton and covers 1 square mile.

Other incorporated villages in Cattaraugus County include: Allegany, Cattaraugus, Delevan, Ellicottville, Franklinville, Gowanda, Little Valley, and Portville.