Section 172-B. Consolidation of fire protection districts

Irrespective of
  the  manner  of  their original establishment, whenever two or more fire
  protection districts adjoin, the town board of the town  in  which  such
  districts  are located or, if said districts be situate in more than one
  town, the town boards thereof acting jointly by a majority vote  of  the
  members  of  each  such  town  boards,  upon its or their own motion and
  without a petition or upon a  written  petition  of  resident  taxpayers
  owning  taxable  real  property  aggregating  at  least  one-half of the
  assessed valuation of all the taxable  real  property  of  each  of  the
  districts  so  adjoining  owned  by  resident taxpayers thereof, as such
  valuations appear upon the latest completed assessment-roll of said town
  or towns, may consolidate such fire protection districts  and  establish
  the  same  into  one  fire  protection  district  after a public hearing
  thereon. Such petition or petitions shall be signed, and acknowledged or
  proved in the same manner as a deed to be recorded, or authenticated  in
  the  manner  provided  by  the  election  law  for the authentication of
  nominating petitions. Notice of such hearing shall  be  given  and  such
  hearing  held  and  the subject matters thereof determined in the manner
  provided herein for hearings upon the establishment of  fire  protection
  districts,  except  that  the  notice  of hearing shall state in general
  terms the purposes of the hearing  and  specify  each  of  the  existing
  districts  proposed to be included within the consolidated district. Any
  resolution of consolidation made upon motion of the town board  or  town
  boards without a petition shall be subject to a permissive referendum as
  provided in article seven of this chapter.
    For  the  purposes  hereof, such consolidation pursuant to petition of
  resident taxpayers shall be deemed effective upon the  adoption  by  the
  town  board  or town boards of the resolution providing therefor, unless
  such resolution shall specify some other date for such purpose, in which
  case such consolidation shall become effective on the date so specified,
  and such consolidation upon motion of the  town  board  or  town  boards
  without  a  petition  shall  become  effective  as  provided  in section
  ninety-one of this chapter. Unless renegotiated  any  existing  contract
  for  the supplying of fire protection to any fire protection district so
  consolidated shall be  carried  out  in  the  same  manner  as  if  such
  consolidation had not taken place.
    Where  more  than  one fire protection district is situated in a town,
  the town board after a public hearing thereon of which notice  shall  be
  given  as hereinbefore provided, may make a contract for fire protection
  covering all or any of such districts in which event  the  cost  of  the
  contract  shall  be  spread pro rata upon all the property in all of the
  districts affected by such contract.
    * NB Repealed March 21, 2010