Jumping the Gun

It is a curiosity, perhaps, to note that the Village Board has scheduled their annual reorganization meeting for Tuesday, April 1st at 6:30 p.m., with a Public Hearing on the 2008-09 Village Budget to take place at 7 p.m. the same evening.

It is a curiosity because it seems that the Board is jumping the gun regarding the commencement of their next terms of office. Regarding the commencement of the terms of village officers, NYS Village Law states:

S 3-302 Official year, terms of office,
extension or reduction of terms, biennial elections.

1. An official year begins at noon on the first Monday in the month
 following the date of the general village election or the date such
an election would have been held had elections been held annually.

2. The term of office of each elective village officer shall commence
at the start of the official year following his election; the term of
office of each officer appointed at the annual meeting of the board
of trustees shall commence at the start of the official year in which
he is appointed; and the term of office of each officer appointed at
any other time shall commence at the time of his appointment.

The first Monday in the month following the date of the general Village election is April 7th, which would also coincide with our Village's regular meeting date of the first Monday after the first Tuesday of each month.

The budget, by law, is not required to be adopted until May 1st and doesn't go into effect until June 1st. So it is also curious to note that the Public Hearing will take place so quickly, the same night as reorganization.

In any case, why are we in such a rush to begin new terms of office before they legally begin? What was wrong with waiting a few more days for the regular Board meeting date? And if there are questions about the budget, will the Board agree to adjourn the Public Hearing rather than formally close it so that more discussion can take place to address questions before May 1st?