HERMON, N.Y. -- Cathy Race has been mayor of the village of Hermon for about six years. It's a title she's enjoyed having, but it's one she'll lose this weekend -- along with the village, which will dissolve into the town of Hermon.
"I feel very confident that it's going to be a good change," said Race.
Village residents voted to dissolve last year, and now the day has come.
Race says it will help streamline management better. Instead of paying bills and taxes for both the town and village, they will be handled from one office. The town will take over all duties.
"The village offers services right now like sewer and water," said Race. "Those are going to continue, but the town is going to take over the leadership role as far as paying bills, taxes, that kind of stuff."
"The biggest thing that we face is learning about the village and learning about the water and the wastewater treatment plant and things like that," said Hermon Town Supervisor Nicole Bacon-Ward.
Residents in both the town and the village will see a decrease in their taxes. The town will also receive about $90,000 from the state each year to help hold down taxes.
"The taxes for the people in the village are going to go down 46 percent, and the taxes for the people in the town will go down 10 percent," said Race.
However, Race says for village residents, the decrease will actually be closer to 20 percent once lighting and fire district costs are calculated and factored in.
While town officials say there are still some unknowns they expect to face next year, they're hopeful things will go smoothly and are looking forward to the change.