Columbia County Board of Supervisors Chairman Matt Murell, R-Stockport, is planning to form a committee to consider the creation of a county administrator.
The county administrator role would be the county's chief operating officer, Murell said, differing greatly from the county executive role that was discussed earlier this year. The key difference being the county administrator role would report to and work under the direction of the board, whereas a county executive would outrank board members, Murell said.
Another difference is that a county administrator would be hired by the Board of Supervisors whereas a county executive would be elected by the people.
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Not very different than the recent charter reform proposal in Hudson. Sounds good to me. 👍
ReplyDeleteStep in the right direction if it ever gets close to implementation... still very House of Cards.
ReplyDelete"FORM a committee... to CONSIDER the creation..."
If they wanted to do it this way... it would be done.
What does Hudson mayor Kamal Johnson, Nick Zachos, and Matt Murell all have in common?
They got their start in public service by way of growing Youth Center budgets and employment.
For more background:
https://www.hudsoncommonsense.com/whorunscolumbiacounty
Columbia County is now considering creating a County Administrator — a position likely to be among the highest-paid jobs in county government — appointed by a part-time, partisan Board of Supervisors rather than elected by voters.
ReplyDeleteThat alone raises an obvious question of accountability. We trust voters to elect a Sheriff, who wields real law-enforcement power, yet we are told the person responsible for running the county’s operations, budget, and departments should not face the electorate.
Whether the role is labeled “administrator” or something else, if it exercises day-to-day control over county operations, personnel, and the execution of policy — and is funded at a six-figure salary by taxpayers — why shouldn’t that authority come directly from the public?
An appointed administrator answers to the Board. An elected executive answers to voters. That distinction matters, especially in a county where thousands of residents recently asked for the chance to vote on this very question and were denied that opportunity.
The issue is not whether professional management has value. It is whether Columbia County residents should accept a six-figure governing authority appointed by a board whose recent actions have raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability.
Residents who care about this issue would be well served by regularly attending Board of Supervisors meetings this year and paying close attention to how this proposal is discussed, shaped, and advanced. I will certainly be there.
I don't understand how one can call the Board of Supervisors partisan when it is democratically elected. You may not like its current composition but that doesn't make it partisan.
DeleteWhat was however partisan was the Hodge proposal that was little more than a thinly veiled attempt at usurping a county board that in his mind isn't quite leaning the right way.
What people in Hudson meanwhile can do to improve their representation at the county level is fix the ridiculous city charter that sends five supervisors who never speak with one voice to the county board. Every other municipality sends one.
Tara - this is how Sam Hodge let the Democrats in Columbia County down.
DeleteA) He made an unforced error in the petition paperwork.
B) He takes credit for electing the Sheriff and "flipping" the congressional race in his farewell note to the Dems (did he resign or was he forced out?)
But those things would have happened anyway because the incoming Sheriff has earned votes over a 40 year period and the demographics in NYS and Hudson Valley changed.
In the end his misrepresentation and sensationalism around the CMH issue, his emotional defeat speech outside the Columbia County HQ to career-protesters and retirees... it was all just a photo-op for his run against... checks notes... the most popular and hard-working Democrat in the Valley; Didi.
So while Murell is not very transparent (he does not even publish his own resume or candidacy statement to Chair the BoS), Sam Hodge's Democrats fumbled here.
~
Good politicians rarely make good operations leaders, and vice versa.
It is wise to hire/appoint an operational leader with deep experience and competence, and not make that person play politics every 2 or 4 years to keep the job.
The questions are:
1 - Will Murell's BoS actually do this when the heat dies down. It can be done in one or two BoS meetings and so far they are basically saying they might be taking steps... to think about doing something...
2 - Can we trust the BoS to hire a good candidate and not another Columbia County insider and old boy.
I’m a little unconvinced that it would be better to let the board of supervisors decide at this juncture who is best to create efficiency and manage our $200,000,000 budget.
DeleteI think better to take it to the people and let them decide if they even want an executive, administrator or whatever you want to call it. It is still a big job, with a big salary. Yes an elected version would have 2-4yr strings attached, but at least someone is accountable to the voters.
And again I make the case, that as a resident of a small town, my vote is not equal to someone who lives in claverack or Ghent. I pay the same taxes, more every year, with little to no services and unequal representation.
It would be a game changer if Hudson was able to recharter and have a clearer and more powerful voice on the board of Supervisors.
This is a smart move for Columbia County. A staff COO is designed to improve efficiency and require supervisors to collaborate. An elected version of the role would almost certainly devolve into a political circus, undermining its purpose.
ReplyDeleteThis is a sop and nothing more, folks. Max -- partisan is as partisan does: the BoS is a Republican cesspool of backslapping and backroom deals. HCS -- Didi Barrett is the most popular and hard-working Democrat in the valley? OK, that explains so much. Nobletowner -- how, exactly, does a "manager," appointed by the employees and who serves at their pleasure, effectively "require supervisors to collaborate" when they're elected and therefore can't be fired? How does the COO handle a "no?"
ReplyDeleteUnder this model, the COO would be appointed by the elected supervisors, who have generally demonstrated a strong focus on countywide rather than partisan concerns. In keeping with their established practice on most matters before the Board, it's reasonable to expect that they would seek consensus around appointing the most qualified candidate.
DeleteYou understand that the supes are elected by the towns they represent, right?
DeleteThe problem remains the same-- the good ol' Republicans in the County don't give a rat's ass about Hudson. ~ PJ
ReplyDeleteElected by their towns to represent their towns as well as the best interests of the county. And it mostly works until things get partisan.
ReplyDeleteNo. Elected by a town to represent that town. Period. The entire philosophy behind the BoS is that the members represent their municipalities. Again — period. Besides, the County, as an entity hardly exists. It’s primary function is to spend federal and state highway funds which it does by handing it out to the towns.
DeleteIncorrect. Period. That framing understates the role of supervisors. They are expected to engage in substantive county-level legislative work, shaping policy and making decisions that serve the county beyond the interests of any single town.
DeleteYou’re clearly either a bot, a supervisor a recently-minted poli sci BA who just moved here.
DeletePS — check NYS Town Law: supes don’t take an oath to uphold the county laws (since they hardly exist as such). They take only their town supervisor oath. Further, there is no substantive county policy or law. There is, principally, highway money to distribute and allocate. The county is principally concerned with implementing state policy and laws (departments of health, social services and clerk/dmv). Policy has nothing to do with anything.
Friedman - perhaps some day you'll understand that not every person who disagrees with you is a bot or has some sort of ideological or financial motivation to gainsay you. I've been regularly attending County BoS and committee meetings for several years and have never seen you at a single one.
DeleteI never go to county meetings. Why would I? They introduce resolutions (not laws) by number, not title. It’s obscured on purpose but the tell that puts the lie to everything is the fact that there are no codified county laws. None. Not one.
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