It’s official: residents of the Village of Williamsville will vote on dissolving village government on Tuesday, Aug. 17.

The resolution to set the date was introduced by Trustee Jeffrey Kingsley and approved unanimously by the mayor and trustees.

A second resolution, also introduced by Kingsley, set the polling place and hours. Village Hall will be the sole polling place for the referendum, and the polls will be open from noon to 9 p.m.

This resolution was opposed by Mayor Mary Lowther, who wanted an additional polling place, but all trustees voted in favor of it.

In a statement, government reform activist Kevin Gaughan called the date of the vote a deliberate attempt to guarantee low turnout, as many village residents are likely to be on vacation.

“Even the most jaded political boss would blush at this brazen attempt to suppress voter turnout,” Gaughan said.

Kingsley denied that there was any attempt to suppress the vote and that officials selected the date carefully to encourage voter turnout.

“All indications were to have the vote as soon as possible,” Kingsley said. He stated that the choice of Aug. 17 was simple mathematics: the village sought to avoid Primary Day and felt there’d be a better turnout if it avoided the Labor Day holiday.

The law on village dissolution requires that the referendum be held within 60 to 90 days of setting the vote.

Kingsley pointed out that village residents will be able to vote absentee. Village administrator Lynda Juul expects to have applications for absentee ballots available by the end of the week.

Those wishing to vote as an absentee should obtain an application from Village Hall. They will then receive a ballot in the mail, which they can either mail back or deliver to Village Hall in person. Voters can request an absentee ballot up to the day before the referendum, and voters must return the ballot by the date of the referendum.

A large crowd turned out for Monday’s meeting and included Gaughan, co-chairs of the Friends of the Village of Williamsville Amy Alexander and Dan Delano, and Williamsville Citizens Study Group members Chris Duquin and Vic Pacquet.

During public comments, several residents addressed recent reports that those who carried the petition to bring the referendum had misled people into signing it.

Village resident Bill Wutz stated that he had reviewed the signatures on the petition and noted that several were missing addresses, some were illegible, and a few didn’t live in the village. He also noted that some of his friends said they were misled.

“I’m not sure what can be done, but I really think this thing should be looked at,” Wutz said.

Juul stated that she had verified 553 of the signatures submitted. Those that were stricken were found to have been ineligible to sign for various reasons, including ineligibility to vote and providing an inadequate address. Juul also stated that she was unable to remove the list of names that Gaughan had submitted to her.

She stated that people wishing to have their name removed will have to initiate the process themselves and submit a witnessed, preferably notarized, copy of their signature to her. There is a form available at Village Hall to get one’s signature removed.

Village Attorney Charles Grieco further suggested that anyone who feels they were tricked into signing the petition should report it to the district attorney.

The next Village Board meeting and work session will be held on Monday, June 28. The work session, which is open to the public, will begin at 6 p.m. The board meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m.

e-mail: kmockler@beenews.com

.Williamsville will hold a vote to decide dissolution of village government from noon to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 17, at Village Hall, 5565 Main St.