N.Y. Town Law 57 – Dissolution of special improvement districts
§ 57. Dissolution of special improvement districts. 1. Whenever the town board of a suburban town shall determine after a public hearing as hereinafter provided that it is in the public interest to manage, maintain, operate and repair as a town function, pursuant to title five of this article, any improvement or service provided or authorized to be provided by one or more special improvement districts, it may adopt a resolution dissolving all special improvement districts wholly located in such town created or existing to provide such improvement or service.
The resolution dissolving the district or districts shall provide for the assessment of the costs of any improvement provided or authorized to be provided by such district or districts, including the principal of and interest on any bonds or other obligations authorized to be issued for the purposes of such district or districts or which have been issued for the purposes of such district or districts and are outstanding and unpaid as of the date of such dissolution, to be borne partly by the area of the town outside of any villages and partly by lands benefited thereby; or by the area of the town outside of any villages; or entirely by lands benefited thereby as the town board, in its discretion, shall determine. Where however, (1) any part of the costs of the improvement is to be borne by property in a described benefited area, such costs shall be assessed, levied and collected from the several lots or parcels of land within such benefited area either in the same manner and at the same time as other town charges, or in just proportion to the amount of benefit which the improvement shall confer upon such lots or parcels, or (2) any part of the costs of the improvement is to be borne by the entire area of the town outside of any villages, and such area has not been determined to be the benefited area, such costs shall be assessed, levied and collected from the several lots and parcels of land in such area in the same manner and at the same time as other town charges.
2. Any such resolution shall provide that the cost of the management, maintenance, operation and repair of such improvement or service shall thereafter be a charge upon the area of the town outside of any villages and shall be levied and collected in the same manner and at the same time as other town charges.
3. The district or districts shall be dissolved on the first day of January next succeeding the effective date of the resolution dissolving such district or districts provided, however, that if the effective date of such resolution shall be subsequent to the first day of August in any year, the dissolution of such district or districts shall be effective on the first day of January of the second succeeding calendar year.
4. Upon the dissolution of any such district or districts pursuant to this section, the improvement or service provided or authorized to be provided by such district or districts shall thereafter be a town function and the town board shall be responsible for the necessary management, maintenance, operation and repair thereof. All the property of such district or districts shall become the property of the town.
5. The town board shall conduct a public hearing on the proposed dissolution of a district or districts pursuant to this section, on notice published at least ten but not more than twenty days before such hearing in a newspaper or newspapers designated pursuant to subdivision eleven of section sixty-four of this chapter and shall also cause a copy thereof to be posted upon the bulletin board in the office of the town clerk. Such notice shall specify the time when and the place where such hearing will be held and in general terms, describe the proposed dissolution, and where appropriate, the proposed basis of apportioning, levying and assessing all improvement costs and shall specifically state that the cost of the management, maintenance, operation and repair of such improvement or service provided or authorized to be provided by the district or districts proposed to be dissolved shall thereafter be a charge upon the area of the town outside of any villages and shall be levied and collected in the same manner and at the same time as other town charges.
6. The town board may complete any improvement authorized to be provided in the district or districts dissolved or to be dissolved and finance such improvement pursuant to the local finance law.
7. The town clerk shall cause a certified copy of any such resolution to be duly recorded in the manner prescribed in paragraph (d) of subdivision six of section fifty-four of this chapter and to be filed with the state comptroller no later than ten days after it shall become effective.