Cayuga County Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall apparently has given up on his own Government Operations Committee.

Marshall's appointed committee has yet to propose any changes for county governance, and Marshall suggested that voters may need to voice their frustration with their legislators at the polls in the fall during his annual speech to the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce Wednesday.

This would suggest that Marshall forecasts no movement from his committee in the eight months leading up to the election.

Marshall has already watched a year pass on his watch and Government Operations is still studying the issue of county governance. Marshall admits it's not a top priority for him, and yet he decided to serve it up at Wednesday's luncheon.

This is more politics than sincerity. Marshall is up for re-election this fall. Expect to see the issue of county governance be stoked by the chairman and all the incumbents who wish to retain their seats, just as state politicians chanted "reform" throughout their campaigns last fall.

Fortunately, there are some early-stage developments taking shape.

We are encouraged to see that legislators Bill Catto - who is up for re-election - and David Pappert have both offered separate local law drafts to the Government Operations Committee for their consideration. Pappert and Catto have been among the legislators who have expressed frustration with the current form of government - and perhaps the Government Operations Committee - and it's refreshing to see some of our legislators spending time to do more than just talk about change.

Unfortunately Marshall was all talk Wednesday. Instead of taking the opportunity during his county address to call on his own appointed committee to finally put together a proposal for the full body of the Legislature, he deflected the responsibility to the voters.

He could have challenged Government Operations Committee Chairman Peter Tortorici to set a schedule and an end date to the committee's research, which is at 15 months and counting.

But Marshall didn't. Instead he challenged the voters, an apparent admission that he expects nothing to change over the next eight months, and a clear indictment of his own leadership.

It's not the voters who should be taking action on the county government's inaction. It's the chairman.