County will have new voting districts

County will have new voting districts

    SCHUYLER COUNTY—At their regular meeting held on Monday, July 9, the Schuyler County Legislature passed a local law which will eliminate the old three district plan and will phase in eight newly delineated voting districts from 2014 to 2016. Local Law Intro No. 5 of the Year 2012 is designed to implement the eight district plan in such a way that the existing legislatures will complete their current terms and the legislative terms will remain staggered.
    The proposed districts 1, 2, 3 and 4 will come into existence in January of 2014 with legislators who are elected during the November 2013 elections. District 1 comprises the towns of Catharine and Cayuta, District 2 is southern Hector, District 3 is northern Hector and District 4 is part of towns of Hector and Montour. The five legislators who are not up for election in November of 2013 will be grouped into two districts in western Schuyler County, creating a six district legislature in the year 2014 with nine legislators.
    In January of 2015 proposed districts 5 and 6 will seat their new legislators who will have been elected in November of 2014. District 5 is the southern portion of the town of Dix and the southern half of the town of Montour. District 6 comprises northern Dix, the village of Watkins Glen and the portion of Reading that falls within Watkins Glen. The balance of Reading will be joined with Orange and Tyrone to form one district which will contain the two legislators whose terms extend to January of 2016. This creates a seven district legislature for the year 2015 with eight legislators.
    The final voting district layout will come into effect in January of 2016. District 7, which will be most of the towns of Tyrone and Reading, and District 8, which will be Orange and part of Tyrone, will join the other districts that were established in previous years to form an eight district legislature with eight legislators representing roughly equal populations.
    Legislator Barbara Halpin lamented the complexity of the voting district implementation. “It did not need to be this complicated,” said Halpin. Although Halpin said she supported the move to eight districts, she voted against the law after stating it would be much easier and less costly to switch directly to the eight district plan in January of 2014 rather than gradually introducing the districts. She was joined by legislators Doris Karius and Glenn Larison. The vote passed four to three with Dennis Fagan, Thomas Gifford, Stewart Field and Phil Barnes voting in favor of the law. Legislator Michael Yuhasz was absent from the meeting.
    In other business:
    • The legislature voted to enact a local law designed to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. The law makes it a violation for any individual to enter or leave a boat launch facility in Schuyler County while their watercraft is contaminated by aquatic invasive species. Some members of the public questioned the effectiveness and possible negative impacts on tourism of the law. Chairman Dennis Fagan and Sheriff William Yessman assured those in attendance that the law was mostly educational and would serve as a tool for the Sheriff to punish repeat offenders who knowingly and wantonly spread the invasive species. Fagan also acknowledged that the law would not prevent the spread of invasive species but hoped that it would help to control them.
    • The legislature passed a resolution in support of a grant application for $750,000 by Schuyler County Partnership for Economic Development by way of the Consolidated Funding Application. If obtained, the funds will be used to assist in decommissioning the Montour Falls and Watkins Glen waste water treatment facilities and the development of a “green” waste water facility to be used by both municipalities.
    The next regular meeting of the legislature is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in the legislative chambers.