With recent discussions of a consolidated northern Chautauqua County municipality, it is interesting to see what is happening in the village of South Dayton in Cattaraugus County. In recent months, the entity has considered dissolution.

Tonight, the Village Board plans a public hearing on the topic at 7 in the South Dayton Fire Hall, 34 Maple St. The hearing is supposed to focus on a dissolution plan endorsed by the Village Board at a Feb. 11 meeting. The plan would transfer most village services, records and laws to the town of Dayton.

The hearing will also consider “what government services, local laws and employee positions would be continued or stopped if the Village of South Dayton was dissolved,” according to a legal notice for the event.

As usual, there will be some give and take if the government is eliminated. For instance, 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 (of assessed property) to an estimated $5 per $1,000, assuming 100% of the Citizen Empowerment Tax Credit is applied to reduce taxes for all town taxpayers.

“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,” the notice said.

After the hearing, South Dayton’s board will have up to 180 days to amend and adopt the final dissolution plan. If it gets adopted, registered voters residing in South Dayton will vote on the proposed plan in a public referendum on June 9.

Right now, the village has a population of around 550 residents. That small amount will have a big say in the final dissolution decision.