Westchester Legislators Send Charter Revision Commission Final Report to Committees

Westchester Legislators Send Charter Revision Commission Final Report to Committees

The Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) on Monday, February 10, 2014,  referred the recommendations of the Westchester County Charter Revision Commission, (CRC) to two committees,  Budget and Appropriations and the  Legislation Committee, for consideration. 

The Westchester County Charter Revision Commission  presented their recommendations to the Board of Legislators (BOL) at a "Committee of the Whole" (all Legislators) meeting on Monday, January 27, 2014.  Richard Wishnie, a former Westchester County Legislator who chaired the CRC, led the Commission’s vote on 26 different items that were studied.  Ultimately, 16 items were approved by the CRC and have been submitted to the Board of Legislators for consideration.  During the Committee of the Whole meeting, the CRC advised that they were placing special priority on the following nine items: 

·        Change the County’s Fiscal Year to July 1 to June 30

·        Establish a Minimum 75 Day Period for Budget Review and   

             Adoption

·        Establish a Minimum Period for Consideration of Budget Additions and 

   Deletions Prior to a Final Vote

·        Add Sustainability and Resilience as Planning Process Values

·        Broaden Board of Legislators Access to Department Budget Estimates

·        Reform Legislative Confirmation Procedures and Designate Interim Powers    

     for Executive Appointments

·        Re-examine the County Ethics Code

·        Convene a Charter Revision Commission Every Ten Years

·        Determine Initiation and Termination of Executive Disability

“The CRC’s recommendations represent the first official Charter review in Westchester County in 25 years,” said Wishnie.  “The Commission worked hard for more than two years to come up with, what I think, is a reasonable, times-appropriate analysis and recommendation,” he added.

Wishnie noted that in the course of its deliberations, the CRC took testimony from dozens of witnesses and considered research that compared governmental practices in Westchester with those in other New York counties.

County Legislator Gordon A. Burrows (R, Yonkers, Bronxville), who will be co-chairing the newly-formed BOL ‘Charter Commission Review Task Force’ with Wishnie, stated that he has “a tremendous amount of respect for Richard Wishnie and the members of the Charter Revision Commission.  I look forward to rolling up my sleeves with Richard and really delving into the recommendations made by the Task Force to see what works and what doesn’t.”

The ‘Charter Commission Review Task Force’ was set up by the Board’s new bi-partisan Leadership in order to review the Commission’s recommendations for possible implementation on a legislative level.

Burrows, the BOL’s Minority Whip, concluded by pointing out that, “the work we do here and now is very important because it will affect the Laws that govern this great County for many years to come.”    

Board Chairman Michael Kaplowitz (D, Somers) commended Wishnie and the other members, stating that he was both “grateful and impressed given the extreme level of scrutiny that was required to put out such a thorough and comprehensive report.”

According to Kaplowitz, the legislation that authorized the CRC, states that the BOL has six months to review the recommendations before deciding whether or not to act on any or all of these recommendations.

All of the CRC's recommendations can be found in their final report at:

http://westchesterlegislators.com/CRC/WCCRC_FinalReport2013.pdf