Office of the Executive County of Chemung 208 Lake Street P.O. Box 588 Elmira, New York 14902 (607) 737-0351 FAX \wort-chemungeountyry.qov Christopher J. Moss David J. Sheen ‘County Executive Deputy County Executive (607) 737-2012 (607) 873-1109 ‘omoss@chemungeountyny.gov dsheen@chemungcountyny.gov ‘February 22, 2021 (Chemung County Legisletors 203 Lake St, P.O. Box #588 mira, NY "14902-0588 RE: Resolution #21-085 ‘Dest Legislators: Please be advised upon reviewing Resolution #21-085 Ihave multiple concerns that | would like to bring to your attention. The information contained in this particular resolution was not forwarded to the Executive Branch of county goverament for review and or comment. This isnot the frst time thatthe Legislative Chairman has bypassed the Executive branch of goverment in order to forward initiatives surrounding his own fagends. My concems with this particular resolution are multiple, beginning with the {$48,000 expenditure that was not outlined or approved in the 2021 operating budget. ‘Currently there is no process outlined in the County Charter or elsewhere whereupon the Legislature can arbitrarily emove/approprate funds from the county's fund balance absent approval ofthe Budget Director andthe County Executive. In fact, there ae no records of this typeof financial transaction being conducted inthe past 25 years and while agree that the legislature has the authority to appropriate funds, the process forthe utilization of those funds isthe annual budge. The legislature has utilized its own interpretation ofthe charter Janguage in an atempt hijack tax payer dollars from the county's fund balance in order to further its own agenda of eliminating the elected positions of County Executive and County ‘Treasurer. I would call your attention tothe letter forwarded to you from the Chemung County Law Department, dated 02/08/21, a it is an objection tothe mannec in which the Legislature is attempting to spend unapproprated funds. 1 am also concerned thatthe letter ‘was never placed on the communications portion ofthe Legislature's agenda whereupon the public would have access. As the County Executive and Chief Budget Officer I have advised the County Treasurer that no funds ae to be released absent the normal financial operating procedures that have been in place for decades. In addition, I've also suggested that she seek an independent legal opinion on the legislature's request to appropriate funds.Since 2008, Chemung County bas spent over $225,000 hiring the Center for ‘Governmental Rescarch (COR), a management consulting organization 1 conduct various -sodies and report. These reports aod studies inchded criminal justice asessment, financial reviews, shared services as well as a study relative to a financial review ‘commission. Ihave personally been involved intwo ofthese studies and they are normally “equested in oder tomeet a specific objective of county government, [have yet see one ‘ofthese report that as not Been completed in fashion that i soporive of the overall “goal of the county’ initial idea or planed scons. In other words, the previous CGR ‘eponts and sade al support the County's position, as the county is paying forthe study ‘and the reslis and recommendations ofthis report wil likely do the same. The curent requested study isnot an independent analysis of govemment efficiency, it will simply be 4 nlcely packaged study of what the legislature, who commissioned the study wants ‘atined inthe repon. This particular repr, iled Benchmarking Legislative Composition ‘snd Government Efiziency, appear tobe nothing more than an temp by the Legit “change the county's curet form of goverment involving the elected County Executive ‘tnd elected County Teasurec. Furthermore, te information tobe collected by the CGR, “utlined in their Project Plan is information tat coud asi be researched by members ‘of the Legislature, the legisative clerks, the Legislative Atomey or an independent ‘contractor, at a cost much les than $48,000, As opposed to masking this study as a plan “improve the goverament, i's obviously eppaent thatthe true goal i to forward a seferendum to te voters on replacing an elected County Executive and eleced County “Treanurer with leglaive appointed County Manager and Comptoir. There sno noo! ‘eo waste $48,000 of uxpayer Funds o mex that objective. The Legislature should be able 10 aoqire mos ofthe information oulined inthe CGR's Project Plan ina shor petiod of time. As an example ofthe $7 counties outside of New York City, 23 are Chater Counties, ‘of which 18 have county-wide elected Executive, and the other 5 have appointed “Administrators or Manages. The remsnder ofthe counts are Non-Chater Counties with vavious forms of government. The following counties operate under a Charter form of government, and you can see the numberof Legislators, population and residents per Legislator outlined below: COUNTY | LEGISLATORS | POPULATION | RESIDENTS PER LEGISLATOR, “Albany 3 306,945 7$70 Broome 18 197,334 3.168 | ‘Chautaugaa 19 133,080. 7,008 ‘Chemung 15 38,506. 5,900 Dutchess 4 296,916 12371 Erie i 919,866 83,608 Monroe 29 749,606 25,848 ‘Montgomery 9 49,879, 5,542, Nassau B 7352196 71,168 ‘Oneida 2. 233,585 10,155: ‘Onondaga a7 468.387 21,582‘Orange a 35552 T7885, Putnam, 9 99,645 1071 Rensselaer 19 159,518, EAI6 Rockland 17 320,903 18,876 Suffolk is 7499,738, 83,318 Ulster 23 180,998. 7,869, Westchester 17 968,802 36,988 Totals Ma 831,986 364,615 have also attached the most recent county statewide data (2020) related to salaries for Legislators (chairperson, majority & minority leaders), County Executive's, County Manager's and Administrator, County Treasurers and Comptrolers at well s other clected officials. As you can se the majority ofthe data being sought by the legislature is readily available without wastng taxpayer funds, ‘The most important of my cancemsis thet this work is not being conducted by an independent group/eommitte of bi-partisan community members. Having Legislators oa ‘committe looking out for ther own self-interest lacks any typeof transparency. The tax- payers deserve a bi-petisan commission to review legislative districts as well as any contemplated changes 1o our curent form of county government. Furthermore, the CGR Project Pan indicates that Legislators will be taking an anonymous survey in relation to the priorities and structure of government, as well as prefered criteria and redistcting. ‘These are elected officials wi0 should not be participating in any type of anonymous survey as their constituents deserve to know exactly what thei postion is and how they are answering question in reference to governmental structure. Every voter and tax-payer in Chemung County shouldbe appalled by th luck of transparency inthis entre process 1s well asthe continued lack of ru leadership from the legislative chairperson. Inclosng, ifthe legislative leadership is truly interested in “benchmarking eficient government”, they should concentrate ther efforts on doing their jobs as legislators and ‘working with the executive brinch instead of continually working against it. Stop wasting ‘tex payer dollars and hiding behind prescripted proposed report on “government efficiency” and schedule a referendum vote on whether residents prefer the elected Offices -of County Executive and Courty Treasurer vs. the County Legislature appointing a County Manager and County Comptrler. The final say should be up tothe voters Executive