§ 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.
