A law taking effect early next year that gives citizens a more direct means of eliminating some layers of local government will certainly be opposed by many, but it's a welcome change and it provides enough safeguards to prevent misuse.

The government consolidation law, lobbied for heavily by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, could help streamline local government by allowing citizens to initiate votes on merging, consolidating or dissolving towns, villages or special districts like those in charge of water or fire protection services.

The idea is to save tax dollars by cutting unnecessary layers of bureaucracy People living in a small village, for example, might not want to continue having workers in village offices and town offices who perform essentially the same functions.

But the law only provides the means of getting the process started, and anyone living in a village or town that would be affected would have the opportunity to cast a vote.

And before village mayors and town supervisors go on the offensive, as we expect they will, they need to remember that the idea behind public service is not to create a payroll for a government work force

Some are saying that the savings aren't really worth the effort, that school taxes are a greater burden on the average homeowner.

But consolidation isn't meant to be the only answer to soaring costs, just one part of the larger picture.

Changes like these are about simple efficiency. And since most government operations aren't running as cost-effectively as they could be, it only makes sense to look for ways do that.

For now, we'll wait and see what kind of proposals come up and weigh each on its own merits.

We hope taxpayers and their elected officials will do the same.