It is unfortunate – unbelievable, actually – that another post on the state of relations between the Legislature and County Executive is necessary.
Despite pending litigation regarding the Legislative Attorney position, I have been feeling really good about what is happening within county government. We certainly have a lot of very serious issues, but proactive steps to begin addressing them are being discussed. Indeed, I felt optimistic at our Standing Committee meetings last Monday night as it seemed we were finally focusing all of our time and energy on things that actually matter to the community.
That feeling did not last long, as we have since learned County Executive Moss is attempting to diminish or perhaps even outright eliminate the role of the Deputy Clerk of the Legislature.
An overview of the structure of the Legislature and what has happened since January is important.
Chemung County’s Legislative Branch is comprised of 18 positions: fifteen Legislators, one Clerk, one Deputy Clerk and one Attorney.
In the four months since Moss was sworn in he has (1) attempted to fire the Legislative Attorney; (2) sued the Legislative Attorney, the Legislative Clerk and all the Legislators; and (3) interfered with the Legislative Deputy Clerk position as described below. In other words, Moss has taken overtly negative action against 100% of the people who make up the Legislative Branch.
The Legislative Attorney
The Memorandum of Law and Affirmation of Attorney Bryan Maggs embedded below were filed last week on behalf of the Legislature. These two documents do an excellent job setting forth the facts and law as they related to this matter:
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The Deputy Clerk
There is no question the Legislature has the power to decide how many people are employed within each department of Chemung County government, as well as how Chemung County’s money is spent, i.e. appropriated.
Last weekend Moss sent an email to the Legislature explaining that he felt the Legislative Deputy Clerk should work on a part-time basis.
At Monday’s Personnel Committee meeting I asked whether the Legislators agreed. The answer I received was interesting. Within the past two decades the Legislature tried to get by without a Deputy Clerk, and then employed one on a part-time basis. Neither arrangement worked as the demands of the job are too high, and therefore we have had a full-time Deputy Clerk since 2005. For scale, it should be noted that the Legislature has already passed roughly 400 pieces of Legislation this year – something that requires a great deal of administrative support.
An excerpt from the resume of Cindy Kalweit, the outgoing Deputy Clerk who served from 2005 until her recent appointment as Clerk, shows that the Deputy Clerk’s duties are extensive:
The Legislature’s discussion of this issue begins at 2:00:52, continuing with a unanimous vote to hire a Deputy Clerk in a full-time capacity:
However, we were informed on Tuesday that Moss has ordered all Chemung County Departments to refrain from paying and insuring our new Deputy Clerk, and also to prevent her from attending orientation or receiving an email account. A letter from Legislative Chairperson Dave Manchester asked Moss to explain the legal basis for his refusal to honor our decision, but to date we have heard nothing.
Mending relations for the good of the community
To some this may seem like interesting political theater or Moss in some way showing his might, but I can tell you unequivocally as a person who cares deeply about our community and ran for office to get things done that his actions are having an extremely detrimental effect on the functioning of county government. This is not about partisanship or Moss’ goals, as Moss and twelve of the fifteen legislators are Republicans and it seems most of the Legislators are on board with the things Moss wants to accomplish. I am truly at a loss to understand the motivation underlying all of this.
Two big themes from Moss’ campaign last year were improving relationships with other government leaders (in that case the City of Elmira) and fostering a strong and independent Legislature.
It would be great if that mindset would reemerge as, to quote Moss, “everyone is the community is tired of the back and forth, and its time to move on and concentrate on problem solving.” We all have a tremendous amount of work to do and should not have to waste any additional time on nonsensical issues like these.
–Christina Sonsire
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Loading...Is there an update I missed on the status of the Deputy Clerk position? There was a good deal of hoopla about whether it was to be full or part time and now crickets. An engaged public is one that is provided information throughout the course of the event. Feedback by the legislature is akin to the reporting from the local media. No more secret meetings please. A nugget, or in this case a bomb, was dropped and then no follow up. I would appreciate if there has been closure for some details as to how this came about. Thank you.
Loading...I try my best to inform the public of what is happening, but it is a lot of work and takes a tremendous amount of time to update on all issues, particularly – as you point out – when there is limited local media attention on these issues. You can always ask for information and I will do my best to provide it.
Loading...There were no meetings on this issue, secret or otherwise. Roughly a week after department heads were told not to pay, insure or train the Deputy Clerk, County Executive Miss changed course and told them to go ahead and recognize her. It was a good move as the Legislature voted 15-0 in favor of a full time Deputy. I have no knowledge of what prompted the change.
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Loading...I appreciate your passion and urge you to not become too road weary. I too look forward to resolution of this issue. Although the timing could have been better, the County Executive’s offer of a compromise seemed to tacitly ring of “mediation”. My hope is for Chemung County to have elected officials/employees/contractors that demonstrate the moral and ethical behaviors the taxpayers deserve. Let us put closed door shenanigans and usurp-ed-ness-es in the rearview mirror. Time to walk the walk. There is work to be done.
Loading...It would be revisionist if I had not said it on this blog before it transpired. Now it’s just an I told you so moment.
Loading...Threatening a bully and then not following through only emboldens the bully. That is exactly what you and the legislature did by approving an Article 78 proceeding and then tabling the retention of an attorney to follow through. Your hope that the bully will see the light, stop being a bully and work with you to do the people’s business is absurdly naïve. What we are left with is a circus side show which, though entertaining, does nothing to addressing the county’s problems.
So many people were so excited about all the new faces in county government. The old guard had gotten complacent and needed to be replaced. Well, the old guard that held the line on taxes and kept things running is gone. Congratulations citizens of Chemung County we have the change for which you have clamored.
Loading...That is a revisionist view of what happened. The first move in this sideshow – and I agree that is exactly what it is – was made by County Executive Moss. He presented a number of us in a small meeting with a letter that said our attorney was fired. We asked if he was willing to come to the table and discuss this, perhaps through the use of some kind of independent mediator. He said no, you will have to take me to court.
Passing the resolution to bring an Article 78 action allowed us to seek outside counsel and make inquiries regarding cost, etc. However, weeks after the resolution passed we showed continued restraint by not filing any papers due in large part to the leadership of Vice Chairperson John Burin.
As I said in this post, despite the litigation over the attorney it seemed, at least to me, that things were going well. It simply cannot be said now as he is outright ignoring our decision regarding the Deputy Clerk. An analogy would be if he were Sheriff and asked the Legislature to recreate an administrative position in his office. After the Legislature voted yes, the County Executive ordered his new hire not be paid, insured etc. This is not how our form of government works.
My reaction to this is to push ahead with work on the things that matter as I certainly did not run for office to engage in these kind of petty disputes.
Loading...I find this new information enlightening and quite frankly alarming. Specifically, that an offer for a compromise (on two occasions) was put on the table to end to the debacle over the county attorney. It appears the public was not made aware of these compromises.The message from the legislature to the public was that there was no opportunity for give and take throughout this whole hopeless mess. Obviously not true. You choose to discuss this in top secret executive session with your lawyer in tow. The actual subject of the discussion. How crazy is that? I find it untenable that our elected leaders line up like little soldiers and refuse to even entertain a solution or consider a compromise. What’s the big deal about trying to work together? I’m sure you all can get a lawyer that meets both your needs.They seem to be a dime a dozen in the county.I too wonder why 3 positions are necessary for a legislature in a county as small as Chemung. Basing a legislative staffing plan on what happened 20 years ago is absurd. Maybe 3 positions ARE needed, but creating positions on purely anecdotal information with virtually zero evaluation of the scope of responsibility or work flow is at best irresponsible. Lots has changed in 20 years including enhanced technology and a decreasing population. Start small and work up. Where is the leadership? Perhaps there needs to be a capital expenditure for a bigger sand box. I hear the airport has dirt it needs to get rid of.
Loading...At the onset, in my field of litigation the details of settlement negotiations are kept confidential until a resolution is reached to give the process the best chance for success. I really don’t have a problem with details being made public right now, but it’s not how things are normally done. And, despite my commitment to transparency, going into Executive Session to discuss ongoing litigation is clearly appropriate. The Legislators are all co-litigants in a lawsuit, but quorum rules prevent us from discussing this matter together outside of an official forum. We need a place where we can privately ask legal questions and propose ideas and solutions, just like anyone who has attorney-client privilege can do. I highly doubt County Executive Moss would want to meet with his attorney on this matter in public.
To that end, Moss’ settlement offers are, in my opinion, nothing more than attempts to usurp power. He decided to sue the Legislature to not only remove our ability to appoint a lawyer, but also to draft legislation. The Legislature feels very strongly that he does not have the power to do so, something that was unequivocally conveyed to him before the lawsuit was filed. The argument that we should now agree to something we don’t believe is in the best interest of the Legislature or County at large just because we have been sued makes no sense.
Moreover, it should be noted that the first time Moss raised this issue I asked him if we could find a way to work through this. His response was “I am firing Bryan Maggs. We can work it out in court if you don’t agree.” The Legislature showed great restraint by not filing papers and trying to work something out, but Moss sued us anyway.
It’s too bad Moss’ lawyer requested an adjournment that pushes a hearing on the matter back to July 19th as I am sure we all would like some closure so we can move on to more important things.
Loading...Thank you for sharing this information and other information on a continuing basis. I hope the Judge in these matters makes the right decision to settle the separation of powers issues so we can have a functioning Chemung County government. The current state of affairs is sad and disgusting.
Loading...You mentioned the 300 bills the legislature passed, yet the media nor anyone else informs the public of what was passed and more importantly how these bills impact the Chemung County residents and when. You are doing more than anyone else and I commend you for your efforts. Perhaps Chemung County needs a Public Information Officer posting to social media and on the local news every night.
With all due respect, I disagree with creating another county employee position. The goal should be to increase efficiency to minimize the size of government, not more positions, salaries, insurance, pensions etc. The people of the county deserve a cost conscious government that seek continuous improvement to give county government the best bang for the buck! We also need a continuous flow of fresh ideas, hence, term limits.
Loading...I am sorry but this thought is like going to DMV and as your wishes only have one person working and you wait for 3 days for service. You must have the people to actually run any program. Not below minimal levels. Equality of life also is needed. You I’m sure want that were you work also.
Loading...Are you referring to the Deputy Clerk? If so, this is not a creation of a new position. As set forth in the post, the County attempted to operate without one for a short period around 2000, but went back to a full-time Deputy Clerk by 2005 and had had one ever since.
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