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DEWITT, N.Y. -- A procedural vote by the Town of DeWitt has cleared the way for the Village of East Syracuse to decide whether it wants to maintain a village police department.

The village is planning a referendum on the question, but if voters say "yes," they need a plan in place to provide police services.

With one dissenting vote, the town council in DeWitt has agreed to an arrangement to pick up police services if the village force disappears. The deal calls for the village to pay the town $400,000 a year. The town agrees to take on the six village police officers as town police employees.

“We provide services either way. We provide services. We do backup coverage for them now. And, over the years, as their police department has shrunk, our calls for backup has increased. So we're providing more and more services in the village as it is,” DeWitt Town Councilor Ken Andrews said.

A public hearing on the East Syracuse proposal is due next week. A referendum vote could come in November.