County Power and Chain of Command

Some of the issues surrounding the power and where it lies in Cortland County has to do with perception of who is running the ship. Some people believe that the Administrator carries the power; I do not. I never did, which I believe led to my removal as Chair of the Buildings and grounds Committee and re-assignment to Personnel.

This email follows some debate in regards to the Administrator considering the Clerk of the Legislature part of his staff. I felt that the title in itself was self-explanatory; the County Attorney validated my beliefs in a subsequent memo.

Here's an email I wrote to members of the Legislature on the matter:


date Sat, Feb 14, 2009 at 4:30 PM
subject Administration

Good Afternoon friends-

I for one have been troubled since Thursday's Personnel meeting and the comments made related to the perceived structure of our County Government. I think some of the issues that we are experiencing have to do with the "chain of command", and who reports to whom. The article in last night's Cortland Standard pertaining to this prompted me to do a little research.

One doesn't have to travel far to look at how neighboring counties approach the County Administrator roles:
Tompkins County: http://www.tompkins-co.org/ctyadmin/
The County Administrator is responsible under the County Charter for ensuring that all Departments adhere to the policies of the Legislature. This is done through direct supervision of 24 Departments including Assessment, Human Rights, Mental Health, Office for the Aging, Planning, Public Health, Public Works, Personnel, Probation, Social Services, Youth Bureau, and more. Other County Departments report directly to the Legislature (Finance, County Attorney, Clerk of the Board); are accountable to the voters (County Clerk, District Attorney, Sheriff); or accountable to the political parties (Board of Elections). The Administrator maintains direct communication with these Departments and is responsible for ensuring that they, too, implement the policies of the Legislature.

ORG CHART - http://www.tompkins-co.org/ctyadmin/organizationchart.html

Also, St. Lawrence County ORG CHART - http://www.co.st-lawrence.ny.us/OrgChart.htm

I guess if we all agree we should ask for a more formal (written) ruling on this so we are all clear. I welcome your thoughts.

Thank you,
Chad