Monroe's separation from Kiryas Joel may be coming sooner than expected. 

At a special meeting Thursday, the Monroe Town Board voted in favor of accelerating the separation. The next step now is for the state government to pass a special law allowing Palm Tree to be established in 2019 -- bumping up the original timeline by about a year.

That would give the town of Palm Tree political freedom to elect its own town board and supervisor in this year's November election. For Monroe, it means Kiryas Joel residents won't vote in the upcoming town council special election.

Senator Bill Larkin and Assembly James Skoufis introduced legislation on the state level supporting early separation.