TUPPER LAKE -- The Tupper Lake Town Council says it's ready to take over governance of the entire community after it unveiled a dissolution plan for the village.

Under the 13-point plan, the Town Council would take over village services, including policing, the municipal electric grid and water and sewer services.

Staff could be shifted

Current department heads would either report directly to the Town Council or to a newly created town operations manager, the plan says.

Village workers would become employees of the town.

The parts of town not in the present-day village would be formed into a special police district, which would contract services from the Tupper Lake Police Department for $100,000 a year.

The Fire Department, now owned by the village, could be taken over by the town only through special legislation in Albany, the report concedes.

Little village support

Mayor Mickey Desmarais told the Press-Republican that the plan has little support.

"No one ever stops me in the street and says they want the village dissolved," Desmarais said.

"They're (the town) so busy putting their nose in our business. Let them do their job, and I'll do mine."

The mayor said he supports expanding the village into the rest of the town, which would create what is known as "coterminous boundaries."

State grant

In neighboring Harrietstown, the town has received a grant to research coterminous boundaries with the Village of Saranac Lake.

"Department of State spent a lot of money looking at dissolving villages," Desmarais said. "It's not going to happen -- not now, not ever. Small government delivers better service."