MONTICELLO – The Sullivan County Legislature is comprised of nine members, all voted on at the same time and that could cause a problem if all or most of them are newcomers with little to no institutional knowledge of county government or issues.
The last county charter commission, some six years ago, recommended either staggered terms or establishing a county executive form of government.
Legislature Chairwoman Nadia Rajsz has now moved the ball forward on the staggered terms issue and has scheduled a public hearing in the weeks ahead, followed by a vote by county residents.
“Hypothetically if all nine of us are replaced, we are in a learning curve, a huge learning curve. Even by having five new legislators now, they still have to come up to speed and it takes months to get them acclimated, so the best-case scenario is to do staggered terms,” she said.
At present, the county does not have an elected county executive, but rather an appointed county manager and Josh Potosek last week won a new 4 ½ year contract by the county legislature.
