should the county be abolsihed?

[steven]

Thought I would give this its own thread as I belive its a subject worthy of debate.

IMHO the county acts as nothing but an additionally taxing authority that has to enforce unfunded mandates from the state.

I am all for abolishing county govt all together.

Anyway to get FB to consider this?

[Jim Ostrowski]

We'll have a forum on it--we were planning a related topic, so maybe we'll combine the topics. I think we can throw it togther in about two months.

[ReformWNY]

Do we have anything to look at where other county govt's have been abolished in other areas, or anything like that? Be curious to see how that all goes down legally.

[300miles]

I thought it was mentioned somewhere (?) that the NYS constitution would need to be modified to allow removing the county layer. That the city/towns are easier to eliminate than the county, and that's why the merger and regionalism ideas so far have been for county-wide govt instead of eliminating the county.

Not sure where I read that though... I'm no legal expert on NYS.

[buffalopundit]

I have an entire category on my blog labeled "Abolish County Government", and the posts in that category all detail how wasteful, redundant and pointless County government has become.

http://buffalopundit.wnymedia.net/ar...ty-government/

Here's some info about Massachusetts' experience doing this in 1997:

Massachusetts has 14 counties which were regional administative districts before the Revolutionary War. Over time the counties administered jails, health facilities, agricultural schools, registeries of deeds and probate, county courthouses, county roads and extension services. The counties were funded by local communities and the Commonwealth.

For many years, there was criticism of county government as wasteful and inefficient. There were recommendations to abolish all county governments and transfer most of their functions to state agencies and their assets (land and buildings) to the Commonwealth.

In 1997, Middlesex county government was abolished followed by the abolition of Berkshire, Essex, Hampden and Worcester county governments. Their functions were turned over to state agencies. Sheriffs in these counties still administer jails but their employees are state employees. The legislation to abolish these county governments transferred Registeries of Deeds to the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.

Registers of Deeds and probate, sheriffs and district attornies, even where county government has been abolished, are still elected in county political districts. In counties which have not been abolished or restructured, county commissioners and treasurers are still elected. It is important to understand that counties as geographical/political regions are not abolished or restructured; it is the government which is abolished/restructured.

Home rule legislation allows officials or voters in a county to establish a regional charter commission to study its government. The commission can submit one of three model charters for approval of voters in that county at a statewide election or it can submit a special charter which must first be approved by the state legislature.

Cities and towns may choose a Regional Council of Government charter which will be binding on those communities where a majority of voters in a city or town approve it. The regional council of governments can provide a variety of services to cities and towns, such as planning, public safety, engineering, water and waste disposal, and many other services. The participating communities pay assessments based on local property evaluation.

The legislature approved special charters to allow Franklin and Hampshire counties to become regional councils of government. Barnstable county has submitted a special charter for a regional council of government to the legislature which to date has not approved it.

Bristol, Dukes, Nantucket, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk county governments remain substantially unchanged.

Ultimately, many county duties could be shifted to Albany (state programs/policy), and other things (like parks, libraries, e.g.) can be shifted to the municipalities.

And from former Governor Bill Weld:

Governor William Weld and Lieutenant Governor Paul Cellucci today filed legislation that will eliminate the 300-year-old county government system in Massachusetts, transferring all essential functions to the state by July 1, l998.

“Taxpayers will no longer support this layer of inefficient and burdensome bureaucracy,'’ said Weld. ‘’In more than three centuries, county government has devolved into a motley mass of departments and divisions with no real reason for being.”

“This is one area where state government can do a better, more cost effective job of providing essential services to cities and towns,” said Cellucci. “We welcome the opportunity to work with the Legislature to push this 300-year-old dinosaur into extinction.”

Under the plan, essential functions and property, including county jails, houses of correction, and courts, will be transferred to the state as of July 1, 1998. County Registries of Deeds will become part of the Secretary of State’s office by July 1, 1997.

The state will also assume all assets and liabilities of the counties. The existing county assessment on cities and towns will be discontinued unless it is needed to pay off outstanding county debt.

Since 1991, more than half the counties have received some form of state bailout totaling in excess of $25 million. At present, the 14 counties have accumulated approximately $45 million in debt.

In response to recent fiscal crises in Middlesex and Worcester Counties, the proposal will provide the Commonwealth with greater fiscal control and receivership provisions to deal with county fiscal emergencies. The legislation will allow the Secretary of Administration and Finance to declare a county fiscal emergency, audit county finances, fix spending limits and allocations, and institute other financial controls. Counties may also be placed into receivership.

Other key elements of the proposal include:

County sheriffs will remain elected and will report to a new Department of Regional Correction within the Executive Office of Public Safety.

County correction employees will become state employees upon expiration of their present collective bargaining agreement.

County employees transferring to the state will become part of the state retirement system.

A commission will be created to make recommendations to the Governor and Legislature on the future use of county property including hospitals, golf courses, parks, open space, and airports.

Oh: and you know how regionalism is this newfangled idea?

The government of Suffolk County was substantially integrated with the city government of Boston more than one hundred years ago, to the extent that the members of the Boston city council are ex officio the Suffolk County Commissioners, and Boston’s treasurer and auditor fulfill the same offices for the county. Thus, residents of the other three Suffolk County communities do not have a voice on the county commission, but all the county expenses are paid by the city of Boston.

We can learn a lot from our neighbors in Massachusetts - a state which, despite its reputation - seems like a tax haven compared to New York.