March 17, 2010
Storied upstate NY village dissolving government
The Associated PressVoters in the upstate New York birthplace of the women's rights movement have approved a proposal to dissolve their village government.
Tuesday's ballot proposal to merge the village of Seneca Falls into the surrounding town of the same name passed by a vote of 1,142-1,037. Absentee ballots still must be counted, but if the vote stands the nearly 180-year-old Finger Lakes village government will dissolve at the end of 2011.
Supporters say dissolution will do away with costly duplication of governmental services and reduce property taxes.
The village was the site of the first known women's rights convention in 1848. It also claims to be the model for Bedford Falls, the mythical upstate community depicted in the movie "It's a Wonderful Life."