Former supervisor forcing judicial review of county structure

QUEENSBURY— Former Queensbury Supervisor at-Large Mark Westcott and a group of several other unnamed Warren County residents will force a legal opinion concerning the current structure of the county Board of Supervisors. While not a lawsuit, the measure "brings this to a federal administrative court," said Wescott, declining to identify the other parties to the action. "They are people from different towns including the northern part of the county." In December, as his final action before his term ended, Westcott urged the Board of Supervisors to look at the current system of government and a possible change to a Board of Legislators set-up. Westcott called the make-up of the board's voting power "unconstitutional." He and other Queensbury and Glens Falls supervisors had argued the northern towns in the county have more voting power despite a weighted vote system. Westcott has since continued this course via emailed newsletters and a blog he operates at www.westcottupny.com. Earlier this year, the Board met with Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, who conducted a presentation concerning possible structures for the county according to state law. At the time, Acquario said he found no issues with the current structure, but encouraged discussion to take place. In April, that discussion came to a halt, when 15 of 20 supervisors defeated a resolution "to explore alternate forms of county government." At the time, Queensbury at-Large Supervisor Rachel Seeber, who voted in favor of the resolution, posed to the board information she had recently discovered. The information, a 1966 county law that established the at-Large positions in Queensbury, appeared new to the board. Supervisors agreed at that point to allow Queensbury to sort out potential structural issues at the town level before considering changes to the full board. Seeber, early this week said, "I believe that we owe it to every tax payer in Warren County to reevaluate the structure of the board of supervisors. Let's look at the pros and cons and make an informed decision." Any outcome from a federal judge's review of the current county structure will not be a demand for action. "It won't tell (the county) what to do," said Westcott. "It gives an opinion and a directive. It would say, 'you've got to fix this.' How you go about fixing it would be up to the board." In the past, judges have given the opinion that a change in structure is needed for similar county arrangements, said Westcott. Those counties, he said, went to a legislative structure, which appropriates residents into districts according to population, giving each district equal voting power. Horicon Supervisor Matt Simpson has been vocal about his opposition to a board of legislators. "This would create another level of government. If anything, Queensbury should be broken up," he said. "The idea that one legislator could represent four towns, creates another microcosm. Ultimately, what we all desire is better representation at the county, but a legislature would create something similar to New York City versus upstate…it leaves Queensbury holding all the cards." Simpson didn't disagree with a closer look at the current structure, "but I don't feel we need to separate the towns from the counties to accomplish that." Westcott said his group was prepared to accept any outcomes from a judge's review. "We will live with it," he said. Warrensburg Supervisor and acting county administrator Kevin Geraghty acknowledged he'd heard there was possible action coming on the matter, though nothing official has been filed or received by the county.

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Former supervisor forcing judicial review of county structure

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