The village of Lyons, along with its government and police force, will no longer exist as of the New Year.
That’s because voters in March voted in favor of dissolution, and the village will now come under the auspices of the Town of Lyons.
But village Mayor Terry Van Stean says many residents were under the assumption that there would be a townwide police department when they voted in favor of the dissolution plan.
"Unfortunately, the way the dissolution law is structured in New York state, the town isn't required to follow the dissolution plan."
Lyons Town Supervisor Brian Manktelow says keeping a local police force would have meant doubling the taxes for residents outside the village.
He argues that with policing coming from sheriff's deputies and New York State Police, village residents will have as good or better protection than they had before.
"We'll still have police protection like the people on the outside of the village had all along, it'll be just a little different makeup on how that's done."
But Manktelow adds the current state dissolution law prevents them from creating a police district within the village limits, to be paid for by village residents, as they had wanted.
He says the town had essentially no input into the dissolution plan and he'd like the state to make some changes to the law.
So would Van Stean, who would like the state to review the dissolution law, take a look at the village of Lyons, and revise it.
