The village of Hammond is on its way out. On September 23, residents of the small St. Lawrence County community — about 300 people, tucked between Ogdensburg and Alexandria Bay — voted 45 to 20 to dissolve the village government and fold into the town of Hammond.
But here's the part worth understanding: the vote doesn't make it so. Not yet, anyway.
What dissolution actually means: A village is a second layer of local government sitting inside a town. Village residents pay village taxes on top of town taxes, and in return they get a village board, a mayor, and village-run services. Dissolving means that layer goes away — the town absorbs the services, the mayor and board are eliminated, and residents stop paying village taxes. For over a decade, New York State has actively encouraged this kind of consolidation, on the theory that it can save residents money.
The timeline: Expect this to take eight to nine months, with multiple public meetings along the way. The village doesn't disappear the day after the vote.
The "backwards" part: Here's the wrinkle that caught my eye. State law requires a formal dissolution study — an evaluation of the pros and cons, with a real plan — before the village can actually be dissolved. And residents get a chance to petition for another vote on whether to dissolve or keep the village once that study is finished. Mayor Shelly Youngs acknowledged the awkwardness of voting first and studying second: "It has to move forward. Whether the grant comes in or not, regardless, we have to do this study per NYS law."
That study costs money, too. The village has applied for a $50,000 state grant to pay for it — but there's no guarantee it comes through. If it doesn't, the cost falls on taxpayers.
Hammond would join roughly two dozen New York villages that have dissolved since 2010. Nearby, Morristown and Hermon residents made the same call about a decade ago. And readers in Jefferson County may recognize this one: Chaumont weighed the same question, going through a full dissolution study with the Development Authority of the North Country before putting a referendum on the November 2020 ballot. The village stayed.
What should you do? If you live in Hammond, watch for the public meetings on the dissolution study — that's where the actual mechanics (services, taxes, water and sewer districts) get worked out, and where your input matters most. If you live in another small village, know this: it only takes a petition to start the same process. Dissolution votes don't happen out of nowhere — they start with neighbors signing their names.
This is a story that will unfold over the better part of a year. We'll keep following it.