Section 754. Public hearings on proposed joint consolidation agreement

1.
  The  governing  body  or  bodies  of the local government entities to be
  consolidated shall set a time and place or places for one or more public
  hearings on the proposed joint consolidation agreement. The  hearing  or
  hearings  shall  be  held no less than thirty-five days and no more than
  ninety days after commencement of consolidation proceedings pursuant  to
  section  seven  hundred fifty-two of this title. The hearing or hearings
  may be held jointly or separately by the governing body or bodies of the
  entities. Any interested person shall be given a reasonable  opportunity
  to be heard on any aspect of the proposed consolidation.
    2.  The public hearing or hearings shall be held on notice of at least
  ten days, but not more than twenty days, published  in  a  newspaper  or
  newspapers  having  general  circulation  within  each  local government
  entity to be consolidated and displayed on a website maintained by  each
  entity  or otherwise on a website maintained by the village, town and/or
  county in which the entities are located. The notice of the  hearing  or
  hearings  shall  provide  a  descriptive  summary  of the proposed joint
  consolidation agreement and a reference to the public  place  or  places
  within the entities where a copy of such agreement may be examined.
    3. After completion of the final hearing, the governing body or bodies
  of  the  local  government  entities  to  be  consolidated may amend the
  proposed  joint  consolidation  agreement,  provided  that  the  amended
  version complies with the provisions of subdivision two of section seven
  hundred   fifty-two   of  this  title  and  is  publicized  pursuant  to
  subdivision four of this section, and/or approve a final version of  the
  joint  consolidation  agreement,  or  decline  to  proceed  further with
  consolidation proceedings. Any approval by the entities' governing  body
  or bodies of the final version of the joint consolidation agreement must
  occur within one hundred eighty days of such final hearing.
    4.  No later than five business days after amending the proposed joint
  consolidation agreement, the governing  body  or  bodies  of  the  local
  government entities to be consolidated shall:
    (a)  cause  a  copy  of  the  amended  version  of  the proposed joint
  consolidation agreement, along with a descriptive summary thereof, to be
  displayed and readily accessible to  the  public  for  inspection  in  a
  public place or places within each entity; and
    (b)  cause  the  amended  version  of the proposed joint consolidation
  agreement, along with a descriptive summary thereof and a  reference  to
  the  public place or places within each such entity where a copy thereof
  may be examined, to be displayed on a website maintained by each  entity
  or  otherwise on a website maintained by the village, town and/or county
  in which the entities are located.
    * NB Effective March 21, 2010