Pro's and Con's of becoming an Incorporated village? (New York, Hempstead: inspector, property taxes)
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I'm just curious about this issue. Is there any substantial benefit to becoming Incorporated? What are the pro's and con's?
I currently live in a plain old, no frills, "Hamlet of the Town of Hempstead".
First, it's not necessary to say "incorporated village" because, by New York State definition, "village" means a municipal corporation and the term implies that there are "unincorporated villages", which means "unincorporated corporation", a real oxymoron. Unincorporated areas are hamlets.
Second, villages can provide services that the town(s) where the village is located may not do, such as village police; and, equally, as important, villages can decide not to provide certain services and thereby protect the residents of the village from certain town-wide taxes that are only levied on residents in hamlets.
As an example, many of the 9 villages on the Great Neck peninsula have lower property taxes than nearby hamlets because these villages protect the village residents from certain Town of North Hempstead taxes that affect residents living in hamlets.
What I've heard, is that in some cases becoming incorported can actually raise taxes.
But I guess that depends on what services you give up or have to create.
Police I think would be a big issue. I know not all Incorporated villages have their own police, but isn't it cheaper to retain the County PD over creating a new PD?
What I've heard, is that in some cases becoming incorported can actually raise taxes.
But I guess that depends on what services you give up or have to create.
Police I think would be a big issue. I know not all Incorporated villages have their own police, but isn't it cheaper to retain the County PD over creating a new PD?
Yes the county is cheaper overall, but with a village PD you get a much higher level of patrol coverage then with the county PD.
With the County PD you might get .5 dedicated officers per shift as opposed to 2 or 3 with a village PD. Remember, all cops on LI are certified as EMTs and do alot more then just arrest people and write tickets.
We're currently living in an "incorporated" (sorry, Walter ) village which is Nissequogue. They have their own police (who we can attest are MOST assiduous about handing out tickets.....), their own fire department, and their own Village Court. They also have their own separate bureaucracy (Mayor Town Board, Building Inspector, Architectural Review Board, Environmental Protection Committee, and several others whose names I can't recall at the moment).
Luckily we are just long-term house-sitters (it's my SO's sister's house; she is working abroad for 2 years) and not property owners because if I had to pay those taxes and deal with the village nonsense I would probably go stark raving mad in a month. Just like any small-scale political organization it's clique-ish to the extreme and if you don't happen to be part of the "In Crowd", good luck....
Numerous factors both good and bad. On the plus side you may have more say in an incorporated village, but the flip side of that it can result in more layers of government at times.
As far as the tax aspect goes, that really depends on the specific incorporated village you are talking about. Some areas will have lower taxes, others will have higher taxes, depends on the level of the services provided as well as the overall tax base.
OK, my next question, what about creating a new villiage or Hamlet, kinda like Woodsburgh in Hewlett/Woodmere did. How do you go about doing that?
It's very rare nowadays....I think the most recent one was Sagaponack way out in the Hamptons. I also read somewhere that North Hempstead put legislation on the books banning incorporation in the late 30s because the Town didn't want to cede all of it's power to a "lower" form of government. Basically every community on the Great Neck Peninsula is a tiny village.
Also, it's entirely hit or miss whether taxes are higher or lower with a village government. I know RVC and Freeport have a ridiculously small electric bill, but in other areas it's basically a paycheck for already rich dudes to tell you where you can and can't park.
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) village which is Nissequogue. They have their own police (who we can attest are MOST assiduous about handing out tickets.....), their own fire department, and their own Village Court. They also have their own separate bureaucracy (Mayor Town Board, Building Inspector, Architectural Review Board, Environmental Protection Committee, and several others whose names I can't recall at the moment). 
