Consolidation vote set in Lisbon

 Town of Lisbon - August 14th has been established by town officials as the date for an advisory referendum asking voters whether the town should consider consolidating with the Village of Sussex.

Town Chairman Matt Gehrke said he anticipated the Town Board would approve the wording for the non binding referendum at a Town Board meeting scheduled for later this month or early next month.

If the proposition is approved, town officials will begin negotiations with village officials regarding consolidating the two communities into a new municipality, possibly the City of Sussex-Lisbon.

The consolidation would have to be approved by four of the five town supervisors and five of the seven village trustees as well as voters in both communities in a binding referendum.

Gehrke also established June 27th and July 31st as tenative dates for two public information meetings to discuss details of the proposed consolidation including how consolidation would affect Town of Lisbon real estate tax rates.

Gehrke told his fellow Town Board members that he believed last weeks  public forum about future government options for the town was "almost as good as it could be" and that town officials should continue exploring consolidation.

A show of hands during the meeting on Wednesday, April 4, showed that the approximately 180 town residents in attendance were evenly divided between seeking consolidation with the village, making another attempt at Lisbon being incorporated as a village, or maintaining the existing form of town goverment.

Four of the five town board members believe consolidation is the most viable option in the future for the town. Board member Dan Fischer has questioned the need for consolidation.