N.Y. General Municipal Law § 754: Public hearings on proposed joint consolidation agreement

§ 754. Public hearings on proposed joint consolidation agreement. 1.

The governing body or bodies of the local government entities to be

consolidated shall set a time and place or places for one or more public

hearings on the proposed joint consolidation agreement. The hearing or

hearings shall be held no less than thirty-five days and no more than

ninety days after commencement of consolidation proceedings pursuant to

section seven hundred fifty-two of this title. The hearing or hearings

may be held jointly or separately by the governing body or bodies of the

entities. Any interested person shall be given a reasonable opportunity

to be heard on any aspect of the proposed consolidation.

2. The public hearing or hearings shall be held on notice of at least

ten days, but not more than twenty days, published in a newspaper or

newspapers having general circulation within each local government

entity to be consolidated and displayed on a website maintained by each

entity or otherwise on a website maintained by the village, town and/or

county in which the entities are located. The notice of the hearing or

hearings shall provide a descriptive summary of the proposed joint

consolidation agreement and a reference to the public place or places

within the entities where a copy of such agreement may be examined.

3. After completion of the final hearing, the governing body or bodies

of the local government entities to be consolidated may amend the

proposed joint consolidation agreement, provided that the amended

version complies with the provisions of subdivision two of section seven

hundred fifty-two of this title and is publicized pursuant to

subdivision four of this section, and/or approve a final version of the

joint consolidation agreement, or decline to proceed further with

consolidation proceedings. Any approval by the entities' governing body

or bodies of the final version of the joint consolidation agreement must

occur within one hundred eighty days of such final hearing.

4. No later than five business days after amending the proposed joint

consolidation agreement, the governing body or bodies of the local

government entities to be consolidated shall:

(a) cause a copy of the amended version of the proposed joint

consolidation agreement, along with a descriptive summary thereof, to be

displayed and readily accessible to the public for inspection in a

public place or places within each entity; and

(b) cause the amended version of the proposed joint consolidation

agreement, along with a descriptive summary thereof and a reference to

the public place or places within each such entity where a copy thereof

may be examined, to be displayed on a website maintained by each entity

or otherwise on a website maintained by the village, town and/or county

in which the entities are located.