Rockland voters have to flip the ballot Nov. 3 to see Proposition 1, a local law that would amend the county charter in various ways.
When they do, they will see, on the left side of the back of the ballot, a 214-word statement that lists 13 categories of changes that they are asked to approve.
The 17-member Legislature unanimously approved the measure and it's got support from the County Executive's Office. Various items address fixes to the county's charter that address one or the other branch of government, or both.
But why so many changes?
It's the first update since 2014, county officials say, so there's plenty of stuff to tweak.
"How about having a document that actually reflects existing practice instead of an antiquated document," Legislature
Chair Jay Hood said.
So why all at once?
"Propositions costs money," said Hood. Getting all the Charter fixes done could take many election cycles, he added. "There's no reason to do this two, three years in a row."
Big changes among a slew of tweaks
Many changes codify existing practice, said Elana Yeger, senior legislative counsel. An example: her job, which she's held for 18 years. The proposition gives the Legislature authority to appoint its own counsel, which is already happening.
There are basic grammar and language preference changes. Yeger said some stilted language was streamlined (substituting "is" for "shall be," for example) and generally updated. They even caught a stray reference to the "Board of Supervisors," which was the body that governed the county until 1986, when the first county executive came into office.
Yeger said some changes are more significant.
Now, the Legislature approves any contract that's for more than $100,000, a threshold set in the 1990s. The proposition would enact a "tiered" system for contract approvals, Yeger said, with contracts worth between $100,000 to $250,000 going before a three-member contract committee of the Legislature chair, the Budget & Finance Committee chair and the minority leader to either O.K. or pass on to the full Legislature. If the committee can't agree, the review would go before the entire Legislature.
Along those same lines, the County Executive's Office would also be able to make real property tax assessment corrections up to $5,000, rather than the current $1,000, without legislative review.
The Legislature would gain more independence for certain things too. Any internal actions — for example, hiring an auditor to help with county budget proposal reviews or issuing certain grants — wouldn't be subject to county executive action. The county executive also wouldn't be able to veto non-binding memorial resolutions passed by the Legislature.
Another change: converting the Human Rights Commission into the Human Rights Department. That makes clear the Human Rights Commissioner is a department chief, and underscores the power of human rights oversight work, much of it regarding fair housing laws. The human rights commission would also be made of 13 members, serving staggered five-year terms.
The county executive would also act as the tourism promotion agency for the county.
The effect of the Legislature's actions, or rather inactions, on county executive appointments would be flipped. Now, if the Legislature doesn't take action for 60 days on confirming a county executive's appointment, the appointment goes through. Under the charter changes, that person would be considered rejected for the appointment. Plus, any person rejected twice for an appointment can't be reconsidered again for the post for the rest of that county executive's term.
The proposition also mandates that anyone who holds the county attorney and public defender positions have been admitted to the bar for at least 10 years. The charter changes also gives the Rockland County Sheriff's Office the ability to appoint multiple undersheriffs. The charter changes would also allow the Legislature to appoint a second vice-chair, which already happens.
The county's Department of Hospitals, defunct since the 1990s when the county closed Summit Park nursing home, would be abolished.
What Proposition 1 says
You'll find Prop 1 on the left side of the back of the ballot.
It's 214 words with 13 categories of changes.
Here's the full text:
Charter Amendment, Proposition Number 1"Should the local law entitled "A local law amending the Rockland County Charter", adopted by the Legislature of Rockland County that: reforms the formatting and language of the Charter; amends certain definitions of terms used therein to bring them into line with long-standing practices; amends the power to approve and execute contracts over $100,000; amends the listed types of internal legislative actions; amends the power of the County Executive to unilaterally correct erroneous taxes; permits the Legislature to have its own Legislative Counsel; amends the procedure for executive branch board vacancies; amends the composition of the Capital Projects Committee and the powers of the Commissioner of Planning with respect to that committee; amends the executive budget proposal process to make formal departmental proposals optional; abolishes the Department of Hospitals and the title of its Commissioner; authorizes the Sheriff to appoint multiple Undersheriffs; requires the Public Defender and CountyAttorney to have at least ten years of experience at the time of appointment; and renames the administrative agency presently known as the Commission of Human Rights to the Department of Human Rights, and clarifies that the Commissioner on Human Rights is the executive head of the Department of Human Rights, and sets the membership of the Commission on Human Rights at 13 members, BE APPROVED?
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This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rocklanders can flip Nov. 3 ballot to weigh in on charter update
