VILLAGE OF ODESSA, NY (WENY) -- The Village of Odessa's mayor is encouraging residents to consider joining the local government to avoid having to dissolve the village. If people are interested in running for a trustee position or mayor, time is running out.

"Right now, we have almost no interest in people [who] want to run for office, which is going to leave the village board [trying] to find somebody to appoint. [This would be so they could] at least have a quorum to operate the village," said Village Mayor, Gerry Messmer.

A quorum is the minimum number of people required to have a valid meeting. In Odessa's case, at least three board members need to be present at board meetings to be able to conduct business. Without the legal requirement, the village would be forced to start the dissolution process.

To dissolve means that the village government would cease to exist and transfer its services to a neighboring town. If the village board votes to dissolve, some services, like water, sewer, and road maintenance, would transfer to the Town of Catharine. All of the assets would be sold at auction, or taken over by the town.

The town would be responsible for street maintenance, snow plowing, and water main breaks. They could also take over other associated village tasks like leaf and branch pickup if they continue to do so.

Mayor Messmer said village residents who want to run for the trustee or mayoral position will need to declare their candidacy by January, ahead of the March village municipal elections.

"If people step up to the plate before the election and get on the ballot, we can stop the entire dissolution process anytime we want as a board. It is not a done deal once we vote on the resolution, that just means that the board is saying we recognize the potential that we may have to do this, let's look at the next steps," said Mayor Messmer.

Messmer said if it came down to the village dissolving, it would take anywhere between 12 and 18 months. The process would start with the board's resolution, then public hearings, followed by a public vote.

Mayor Messmer said being a village board member is not a huge time commitment. Mayor Messmer said trustees would have to attend a monthly board meeting and a budget workshop in February.

He said for the mayor position, the person would have to stop into the office each month or so to sign documents, checks, etc. If they're not available, they can be signed by the deputy mayor.

Candidates have from February 4th to February 11th to submit petitions in order to get their name on the ballot. If people are interested in running for trustee or mayor, they can visit the Village Office. The office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Candidates will have to get a minimum of 5% of registered voters' signatures. Once someone signs a candidate's petition, they can't sign another one.