COUNTY SETS HEARING FOR UPDATED CHARTER, NEW NAME FOR BOARD
On April 1, the Board of Representatives is scheduled to give itself
a new name and approve an update to its Charter. Following a hearing at
5:30 p.m. in the County Courthouse, a vote will be taken on acceptance
of the revised Charter, which among other things, will change the 33-year-old
name of the Board of Representatives to the Tompkins County Legislature.
The product of over a year’s work by the Charter Review Committee, chaired
by Michael Lane, the revised Charter defines policies, duties, and powers
of County government. New York State law determines to a great degree how
county governments function, but the state constitution allows county governments
to design “alternate forms of government” through adoption of a charter.
Tompkins became a charter county in 1970 at the same time it switched from
having a board made of up town supervisors to a Board of Representatives
formed through elections in each of 15 districts of equal population. The
Charter is reviewed every ten years, but changes can be made at any time
by local law or, when required, public referendum.
Two major changes to the Charter have already been approved: 1.) the
filling of vacancies in the legislature through special election (approved
by referendum in November 2002); 2.) reapportionment of election districts
according to the 2000 census. Other changes that clarify or update county
government activities include:
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The County Youth Bureau will be renamed the Department of Youth Services;
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The lead role of the County Health Department as coordinator of public
health-related emergency preparedness will be officially acknowledged;
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The Probation Department will become the Department of Probation and Community
Justice, and various Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) programs will
be listed as functions of the department;
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The provision of attorneys for the indigent will continue through the Assigned
Counsel program, rather than a Public Defender.
Language in the Charter has also been revised to be gender-neutral.
Copies of the draft Charter are available for public viewing at the Board
of Representatives office, 320 N. Tioga Street, Ithaca. Contact: Michael
Lane, Chair, Charter Review Committee, 844-8440.
COME PREPARED FOR ASSESSMENT REVIEW, SAYS DIRECTOR
Assessment Director Valeria Coggin reported to the legislature that
1,400 taxpayers have scheduled informal hearings to protest their preliminary
assessments. About 900 of the 15-minute appointments have already occurred.
Coggin estimated another 500 taxpayers would make appointments by the deadline
of March 31. The tentative assessment roll will be filed on May 1, and
after that, property owners who are not satisfied with their assessments
must file formal grievances with the Board of Assessment Review. For either
process, taxpayers should come prepared with information - such as a recent
appraisal or lists of comparable sales - that documents the value of their
property. Public computers at the Assessment Department are available for
checking any assessment and comparable properties that were used in setting
that assessment. Contacts: Valeria Coggin, Assessment Director, 274-5517;
Jay Franklin, Assistant Assessment Director, 274-5517.
IN OTHER BUSINESS . . .
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The Board authorized the Finance Director to appropriate funds as needed
for emergency response in the event of a disaster;
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The Board approved the Charter Review Committee’s report on reapportionment
following the 2000 Census. Copies are available for viewing at the Board
of Representatives office and the County library.
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The Board passed a member-filed resolution presented by Barbara Blanchard
that urges passage of the State and Local Aid and Economic Stimulus Act
under consideration in the U.S. Senate. The act would infuse ailing state
and local government budgets with a total of $40 billion. As the legislation
is currently written, Tompkins could receive as much as $5.3 million.
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