It remains to be seen if it’s even possible for township to become a village
By Jason Arndt
Editor
When Town of Burlington voters receive their ballots on April 2 they will be asked one simple question: Should the Town of Burlington continue to explore becoming a village?
The question, which will be in the form of an advisory referendum, was approved on a 3-2 decision at the Jan. 10 Town Board meeting.
“The referendum is non-binding, but it would be a good thing to take the temperature from our citizens and see what their thinking is,” said Supervisor Jeff Lang.
Lang, who voted to advance the advisory referendum, said he has not decided on whether incorporation would be beneficial to the Town of Burlington.
“I am nowhere near being able to make a decision whether or not to move forward and support the effort.”
Along with Lang, the other two who voted in favor of the advisory referendum were Chairman Ralph Rice and Supervisor Barbara Ruud.
Supervisor Tyson Fettes, who expressed some concerns, and Supervisor Richard Isaacson opposed the advisory referendum.
Fettes, however, is not opposed to the working group tasked with reviewing and investigating the feasibility of incorporation.
“I am not opposed to … trying to come up with the facts,” Fettes said. “It is a complex legal issue, I spent a lot of time reading the statutes myself.”
After his initial review, Fettes does not believe the entire township could incorporate into a village, if at all, under state statutes.
“The concerns that I have is that through reading the statutes, it is not likely possible that the entire town can turn into a village because we can’t meet the rigorous DOA standards,” he said.
“It seems misleading to put that out there without a plan and talking points of what people are voting on,” Fettes said.
“It is little premature to put it on the ballot at this point.”
Some residents questioned why the Town of Burlington has explored incorporation while others did not see any harm in the advisory referendum.
To read the entire story, including comments from residents, see the Jan. 17 edition of the Burlington Standard Press.
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