We have no doubt that the state Legislature will pass legislation that is needed to free up more than $600,000 the former Mayville Fire Department has in reserve funds for equipment and a new ambulance.

Mayville Mayor Rick Syper said the state does not permit the village to give that money to the district on its own, since villages cannot give away taxpayer money.

But the process takes months. The Mayville Village Board had to pass a resolution asking the state to take action. Nothing can happen on that resolution at the state level until at least January – and more likely in May and June when most local requests are acted upon by the state Legislature. Then, it can take a couple of months after the state legislative session ends for Gov. Kathy Hochul to actually sign the legislation. Home rule requests like this are almost always passed unanimously, but one had better hope the request isn’t urgent.

In the meantime, there is $569,773 in a Fire and Rescue Equipment Reserve Fund and $58,262 in an Ambulance Reserve Fund that is off-limits to the recently created North Lake Fire District, which serves Mayville, Hartfield and Dewittville. The fire district won’t be buying an ambulance tomorrow, but the equipment reserve fund could be a useful tool for the new department before next summer.

The issue we have isn’t that the state Legislature won’t take the necessary action – it’s that the action is necessary in the first place. State law is so complex and far-reaching that even something that should be relatively simple ends up needing, literally, an act of Congress. One would think when local organizations do what is necessary by merging services that the state’s byzantine laws wouldn’t get in the way. Pooling local resources to meet local needs is exactly what the state should want – so why has no one at the state revised these out-of-date laws, rules and regulations?

This isn’t the first time this has come up. Merging town courts required state legislative action – which slowed the process when it has been locally. We’re not sure many legislators who voted on the North Harmony and Harmony justice court merger could have found the two towns on a map without Googling it, but their approval was needed and added months to the process even after it had been approved locally.

If New York really wants to encourage more shared service and municipal consolidation of service, then the state must make this process easier, smoother and more consistent. It shouldn’t take months of waiting to consolidate a court or free up reserve money because of an outdated section of state law likely written in the days when we got around by horse and buggy.