By a narrow 105 vote plurality with 125
absentee votes remaining to be counted, residents of the Village of Seneca Falls have voted to dissolve their village government,
according to the Associated Press. The tally was 1,142 to 1,037, without the
outstanding ballots.
The birthplace of the Women's Right's
movement, Seneca Falls is also thought to have provided the inspiration for
Bedford Falls in the Frank Capra holiday classic "It's A Wonderful Life,"
filmed in 1946.
According to the AP, if the vote stands the
nearly 180 year-old municipality would be absorbed into the surrounding Town of
Seneca Falls on the last day of 2011. Supporters said dissolution
would remove costly duplication of local government services and reduce
property taxes. The situation faced by the town and village mirrors a large
number of others in Upstate New York, but Seneca Falls is one of only a few to actually move toward
consolidation.
