And it's not likely his mind will change anytime soon.
Mr. Klatsky and other Shoreham villagers remain unruffled by a recent recommendation of the New York State Commission on Local Government Efficiency and Competitiveness that villages with fewer than 500 residents hold referendums on whether they should continue to exist. The recommendation stems from the state's recent move to veer away from costly special taxing districts by means of consolidation. The commission proposed a petition process ¬-- similar to that needed for villages to incorporate -- and finally a referendum to decide about dissolution.
"I don't think it is applicable right now," Mr. Klatsky said Wednesday.
Mr. Klatsky said there is something to be said in the words "small is beautiful," penned by British economist E.F. Schmacher in the early '70s. A smaller government like Shoreham's gives personalized attention to its constituents for fewer tax dollars, he added. From a cost perspective, Mr. Klatsky said, there is no incentive to consolidate because the village clerk is the only village worker who isn't a volunteer.
"And what [E.H. Schumacher's] comments were... generally are that being small you can respond to local constituents or local people and be sensitive," Mr. Klatsky said. "When you make the decisions, you know who you affect and what you are affecting."
Mr. Klatsky said he has not heard any feedback from residents, although he doesn't believe the concept will draw much support.
"Right now, I'm not supportive of this," he added.
Maryjane Stangby, a longtime Shoreham resident who was enjoying a bike ride near the beach pavilion this week, doesn't believe the state could enforce a mandate on the sovereignty of local governments.
"I can't imagine it," she added.
There are 417 residents in Shoreham -- one of 72 villages in the state with fewer than 500 residents, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Four of the villages are located in Suffolk County, including Dering Harbor on Shelter Island, which has 13 residents, West Hampton Dunes, which has 11, Saltaire, which has 43, and Ocean Beach, which has 138.
Incorporated in 1913, Shoreham began as a seasonal colony where doctors and lawyers came with their families to beat the city heat. Today, an ivy-covered rail bridge on Woodville Road serves as the unofficial entrance to the .4-square-mile village. It contains a spattering of arts and crafts style homes with sloped roofs, the beach pavilion, a former country club which now also serves as village hall. Other village amenities include a playground, basketball court, platform tennis court, tennis courts, and a soccer field.
Village Trustee Carol Willen explained that she could not see residents being very supportive of a move to dissolve because their predecessors decided to incorporate after local government neglected their hamlet. One of their first acts of emancipation was to issue a bond to fund a road resurfacing project, she added.
For now, Ms. Willen said the threat of dissolution will remain a non-issue.
"You have to remember most of the villages made a decision to become a village -- it wasn't randomly imposed on them," she said.
The village offers not only paved roads, but garbage collection, storm water abatement, and small perks like a Fourth of July parade, swimming lessons and an annual tennis tournament.
"It's the longest running competitive tennis club match in the country because it continued during World War II, when others stopped," she added.
Incorporation expert Joseph Prokop, a former Shoreham village attorney who helped West Hampton Dunes form its own government 15 years ago, pointed out that the state commission's recommendation means little considering villages have always had the power to dissolve themselves. He used the village of Pine Valley, once located in northwest Southampton Town, as an example because its residents decided to dissolve after a little over a year in 1991. If the state were to mandate that the villages dissolve, Mr. Prokop says, it would be an affront to home rule.
"It's really redundant because people living in a village at any time can try and end it," said Mr. Prokop, who lives in Setauket.
Peter Baynes, executive director of the New York Association of Mayors, said members of his organization testified before the state commission three times in the last year that they would not support a mandate to undermine local authority. However, he pointed out the recommendation would likely take a long time to come to fruition.
"We think villages are New York's truest forms of democracy," he added.
Josh Horton, executive director of the Suffolk County Village Officials Association and a former supervisor of Southold Town, said he doesn't think the state's recommendations would hold up in any court of law if tested, and added, "I think it would be illegal."
Likewise, state Assemblyman Marc Alessi (D-Shoreham) said he does not believe village residents would consider dissolution. "I don't think the village is a redundancy," said Mr. Alessi, a Shoreham Village resident. But he did point out that while there are 126 school districts spread out over 130 square miles on Long Island, there might be some room for discussion on the consolidation issue. Mr. Alessi also expressed concerns about how much it would cost the village to hold a special referendum.
"There is a lot of room for discussion," he said. "Ultimately, I think they should not be mandated."
Mr. Klatsky feels there are certain instances where consolidation can be beneficial, as when a local government is experiencing financial problems. Mr. Klatsky has supported such efforts in the past, most recently in connection with the consolidation of the North Shore Public Library to include the hamlets of Shoreham, Wading River and Rocky Point.
"Unless there is more evidence of how this can be of help to everybody in the village, our level of interest is somewhat restrained," Mr. Klatsky said.