'They created the village and created a monster'

Disagreement in Woodbury about whether five-year-old village should be dissolved, By Claudia Wysocki Woodbury — Woodbury resident Ralph Caruso said the move to dissolve the village is “outrageous, and nothing more than a political move.” The village was formed only five years ago to ward off the formation of another village within the town. A May 15 headline in Vos Iz Neias, an Orthodox Jewish Internet blog service, read: “Woodbury, NY municipality that split to block Kiryas Joel’s expansion has second thoughts.” The village includes all of the Town of Woodbury, except for the portion in the Village of Harriman, and two hamlets, Central Valley and Highland Mills. Town Supervisor John Burke said village officials insisted on dissolution. “They came to the town board with the proposal,” he said. Burke said they cited a provision that consolidating services will save money. But it won’t, he said. “The village departments — water, sewer, building, zoning and planning boards — will come back to the town,” he said. Burke said residents would save a small amount but that there would be no big savings. And they could get socked with the high legal fees involved in the dissolving process. Town and village officials took their plea to return to their original status to state officials. There is one stipulation however: no other municipality can be formed in Woodbury. The bill before Albany would make Woodbury the only town in the state to have the provision that no other village can be formed within the town. Assemblywoman Nancy Calhoun (R-C Blooming Grove) and Senator William Larkin Jr. (R-C Cornwall-on-Hudson) are sponsoring the bill. Burke said state legislators could ask for another vote or take no action at all. Caruso, a former town board member, said the town could provide the same services to the village for one dollar. The town would be the vendor. “It never should have been made a village,” he said. “The creation of the village was to protect the zoning of the village. If they dissolve the village, they lose the protection.” He called the move “nothing more than smoke and mirrors.” “Ninety percent of running the village would get transferred back to the town,” Caruso said, with the only savings being in administrative costs. One of the largest costs incurred by the village are the high legal fees to change the zoning, he said. Village taxpayers pay $117,000 for the salaries of the mayor, trustees, tax collector, attorney and village clerk. They also pay town salaries. When the village was formed, Burke said, “We put together an agreement that meant the town kept the police department, highway and parks department.” Woodbury has one assessor who does both the village and town and a portion of the village of Harriman. This eliminates duplication of services, said Burke. But Caruso insists that dissolving the village is sheer politics and could affect every other village and town in the state. It can’t be done, he said. “The town could have handled the zoning issues,” he said. “They created the village and created a monster.”