The Majority Caucus of the Niagara County Legislature today issued a reform package for the County Legislature that they said is in the “spirit of reform” that Governor Spitzer is bringing to Albany.

“Reform is not owned by Democrats or Republicans,” said County Legislator Jason Murgia.  “It’s a mindset of people wanting to do the right thing and the Majority Caucus is committed to doing just that.”
 

County Legislature Chairman Clyde Burmaster added, “You have a lot of people on the other side of the aisle who ran around last year touting reform and saying how they were going to follow in the footsteps of Eliot Spitzer.  But now that it’s time to walk that walk, they are running for the hills.  Our caucus gets the message, and these actions are critical steps in reforming the way Niagara County operates.”

Burmaster said the Majority would be taking the following steps:

1.)       Bar Party Chairmen from participating in caucus meetings during the Legislature's meetings. (click to see full text)

“Once a Legislature meeting starts, the politics should be left outside.  Only those elected by the people to do their business should be a part of caucus meetings,” said Murgia.

2.)   Dock the pay of legislators who fail to maintain a 90 percent attendance record for legislature and committee meetings. (click to see full text)

“You cannot do your job as a legislator if you are not attending and participating in meetings,” said Burmaster.  “The people pay us to do a job and if some legislators are failing to live up to that responsibility, then their pay should be docked just like any other job.  Quite frankly, some legislators should be embarrassed with how poor their attendance has been.”

3.)   Following through on a suggestion made last year by new County Legislator Mike Hill, conduct an audit of all county-owned automobiles to see if the fleet is being used properly and whether it can be down-sized. (click to see full text)

“While it is prudent for some employees to have regular use of county-owned automobiles, I want to guarantee that taxpayer dollars are not being wasted on this,” said Hill.  “As we have seen with the conviction of former State Comptroller Alan Hevesi, these types of privileges can easily be abused.”

4.)   Direct the County Manager to prepare and present to the Niagara County Legislature a 2008 budget that calls for no increase in the  property  tax  levy  over  2007. (click to see full text)

“The Niagara County Legislature is committed to addressing the concerns of the people of this county”, said Town of Niagara Legislator Danny Sklarski. “The burden of property taxes is certainly not exclusive to county taxes, but we will surely take steps to address our portion of this burden”.

An additional resolution passed by the legislature was expressed: " Support of Governor Spitzer's selection process of the New York State Comptroller." (click to see full text)