A new group has formed to fight efforts to dissolve the Village of Brockport.

Pro-Brockport is a 50-member committee whose members include village Trustees Hal Legg, Kent Blair, and Scott Hunsinger; former mayor, Jo Matela; and former village trustee, Carrie Maziarz.

Brockport residents are being "blindly asked" to dissolve a level of government without knowing all of the consequences, Maziarz says.

"Dissolution in and of itself does not save money," she says.

Service cuts do save money, she says, but if the village is dissolved, residents will still have to pay off the village's debts. Abolishing the village could result in special taxing districts if residents want services not provided by the town.

Members of two groups, Brockport Tax Cutters and Brockport Tea Party Patriots, are passing a petition to dissolve the village. Proponents say dissolution would eliminate a layer of government and save taxpayers money. The village is having financial problems and Mayor Connie Castaneda has said that staying in the black without making service cuts will require a significant tax increase.

Pro-Brockport members have a number of concerns with the dissolution idea that go beyond history or emotional attachment. For one, there's a provision in state law that would let the Sweden Town Board amend or repeal Brockport's codes, Maziarz says.

Some people believe that the dissolution petition is an attempt by village landlords to eliminate the village code, she says. The Town Board could, for example, strike a village law that requires landlords to register residential rental properties.

There's also the question of village assets. Maziarz says the statute is very vague on what happens with village assets and whether they should be sold.

The way the law works, Brockport officials would have to draw up a dissolution plan. That would include a description of the services the village offers, whether those services would be provided by the town, and, if the town provides them, how that will be done, says Charlie Zettek, Center for Governmental Research's vice president. Zettek has helped with several dissolution and consolidation proposals across the region.

Zettek says the property question is pretty basic. As the default option, the property would be transferred to the town. Property could be sold leading up to the dissolution as a way, for example, to pay down debt.