The Law : Section 185 of the Town Law says that if the resident property owners owning at least 50% of the the assessed valuation of property in the Fire District, as stated on the most recent assessment rolls of the Town Assessor, file a petition with the Town Board, which petition must be notarized in the form for recording and deed, requesting a dissolution of the fire district, the Town Board, if it determines it is in the public interest to dissolve the fire district, may dissolve the fire district after such public hearing.

Desperate for fire tax relief and looking for equal and justified fire taxes, the residents of the Gordon Heights Fire District circulated a petition to dissolve it based on a copyright form (185) from West-McKinneys.  

The Gordon Heights fire district, was established with a petition back in 1951, when the (majority) resident taxpayers felt a need to have their own fire district.  In 1951, The Town of Brookhaven approved their petition with the stipulation that it would not be an undue tax burden upon the residents.  (which it has been for the past 21 years).

In 2007, the majority of the residents no longer see the need for their own fire district and are seeking the same consideration to have the fire district dissolved with a signed petition.

In August of 2006, a petition containing the notarized signatures of more than 70% of the eligible resident homeowners in favor of dissolving the Gordon Heights Fire District was presented to the Town of Brookhaven. 

The petition was turned down because of a few minor technicalities and declared invalid because we did not use an “election law” format.

Though found “invalid” by the Town of Brookhaven legal department - the intentions of the majority of the residents are quite evident; we no longer see the need for our own Fire District and wished to be joined with our neighbors in the surrounding fire districts.