Voters in the village of Williamsville and the village of Sloan came out in big numbers Tuesday to vote on a referendum on whether to dissolve their village governments. Our Ryan Burgess was at both polling centers. He has the results.

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A steady line of voters filtered into Williamsville Village Hall Tuesday from the moment the polls opened at noon.

"I think a lot of residents are very concerned that they're being asked to vote with no plan in place," said Amy Alexander, a volunteer with Friends of the Village of Williamsville.

The referendum to dissolve village government was met with significant opposition in Williamsville, with many residents saying a vote against dissolution was a vote for pride and village identity.

"This is not a solution that works for everybody. This needs to be on a village to village basis. I don't feel that it's beneficial to the village of Williamsville," said Alexander.

Yet, there were some who voted to reduce the size of government, based on the potential cost savings.

"It's just another layer of government of government and at this point of my life, I find the more layers, the more expensive it gets for us," said Williamsville resident Joan Lezarus.

In the village of Sloan, voters seemed skeptical about any cost savings. Many were also concerned about possibly losing some village services.

"I believe and know there's not going to be any difference in any money savings. And the services .... we have excellent services here. I don't want to lose that service," said Sloan resident James Niwinski.

Kevin Gaughan, who started the push to get this referendum on the ballot, said despite two defeats for dissolution - the first time the measure has been struck down in Erie County - he's glad to have created more public discourse.

"We're very proud because that's what we wanted. We wanted every now and then for people to come together and say, 'is this the best way we can do it? Is there some other way to self-govern ourselves. Is there some other way we can save money? Is there some other way we can build our community stronger?' said Gaughan.

If approved, Sloan's village government would have dissolved into Cheektowaga's. Williamsville's village government would have dissolved into Amherst's.