Amherst residents will not vote to downsize their Town Board next month.

In a 3-3 vote Monday, the board failed to pass a resolution to hold a special referendum

June 15 on the downsizing issue.

Instead, the resolution will have to be resubmitted for board approval and be subject to

another public hearing before being added to the general election ballot in November.

Supervisor Barry A. Weinstein initially championed the June date for the referendum on

shrinking the Town Board from seven members to five. But when the referendum looked like it

would cost more than $30,000 to implement, he said, "I got sticker shock."

"I am willing to pull the plug on what is one of our pet projects, with no reservations,"

he said, "and it should reinforce to department heads that I am serious about cost

reductions."

The board's failure to approve the June referendum date means Weinstein's vacant board seat

would be up for election on the same November ballot as the downsizing referendum.

Essentially, a board candidate could win the open seat for a one-year term, only to have it

abolished the same night if voters approve the downsizing.

Council Members Barbara S. Nuchereno and Mark A. Manna voted with Weinstein against any June

referendum, citing cost and the desire to have as many residents as possible vote on the

downsizing issue during the general election.

"We should get a true sense of what people feel," Manna said.

Board members are expected to support putting the downsizing proposition on the November

ballot.

Council Members Guy R. Marlette, Steven D. Sanders and Richard "Jay" Anderson all supported a

June referendum, saying they should adhere to their commitment to bring a downsizing

resolution to the people next month.

The board had voted, 5-1, earlier this year to hold a special referendum in June.

They also said the board can afford the special referendum because they have kept a board

seat vacant since January 2009. Deborah Bruch Bucki's seat was left vacant last year when she

was elected town clerk. Weinstein's board seat was vacated this year after he was elected

supervisor.

Anderson questioned whether Manna, an unwavering supporter of the November date, would have

run for his current board seat if he had known there was a good chance he might never take

office.

Marlette noted that downsizing wasn't the only item expected to come before voters in June.

Another proposition seeks to restore authority to the town supervisor that has been eroded by

the courts in recent years. That proposition would also be pushed to November.

Weinstein initially proposed a "low cost, cutting edge" plan to open four to six polling

places that would allow residents to vote at any of those locations. His proposal would have

cost the town $10,000 to $15,000, he said.

He said the Board of Elections would consider the idea, but Bucki opposed it as an untried

voting method that she said might permit voter fraud without proper testing months in advance.

After the vote, Weinstein said he expects another downsizing resolution to come before the

board on June 7.