AUBURN - Ruth Sholes walked out of the Cayuga County legislative chambers a disappointed woman.

After two hours, 13 citizen comments and several speeches from legislators, the Legislature voted down the proposed county manager local law Tuesday night by a vote of 8-7. The law needed a two-thirds weighted vote, or 161 votes, to pass but only received 116.

Sholes delivered an impassioned speech to a crowded room of former politicians and concerned citizens.

She recalled her desire to create a county manager in the 1980s - when she was a legislator - and then politely grilled the governing body before her.

"Don't you want help?" Sholes asked. "I think you all need help - and professional help. Good management of any business is essential."

Sholes consistently referenced the importance of planning for the future, a theme echoed by people on both sides of the manager debate.

Another recurring topic was the need to address a perceived problem with the proposed local law; some speakers said that it gave the manager a lot of responsibility and no authority.

Bill Balyszak, Democratic candidate for District 5, asked the Legislature to "let go of the reins.

"How does he have any real clout to do the job in the most efficient manner?" Balyszak asked, noting how a manager would have to ask for legislative approval in regards to hiring, firing and purchasing matters.

Such thinking was a primary reason for Legislator Ray Lockwood's decision to vote against the law. Lockwood, R-Aurelius, said that he would support having a manager but that the proposed law had "no teeth."

He also feared that the way the law read, legislators who he said have been micro-managing department heads would then micro-manage the manager.

And in order to dispel rumors that his "no" vote was related to desires to fill the chairman's seat again, Lockwood decided to make a public statement.

"I am not interested, nor if given the opportunity would I accept, the chairmanship again," he said.

Most legislators were not surprised by the vote - they had done the math beforehand.

"I knew it was coming," said Michele Sedor, D-Sennett. "People's minds were made up."

Sedor and David Pappert, R-Auburn, both cited statistics from other counties that have managers, and they expressed concerns about a system that relies on an elected legislator to fulfill complicated administrative tasks.

"It's not good enough to say, I think one of the 15 might be able to do it - let's let him sit up there and try," said Pappert, who said that the current position of a chairman running things is "on-the-job training at your expense" and an "unarguably rotten system."

But some speakers disagreed, saying that they didn't see the need for a manager at all.

Former Genoa supervisor Hans Pecher questioned how a manager would save taxpayers any money.

"You're looking for a scapegoat for yourselves," he told legislators.

The night was filled with analogies, the most common being of a county manager to a CEO and the county to a business. Both Chris Palermo, R-Sterling, and Legislature Chairman Herb Marshall, R-Throop, rejected that view.

Marshall said that though a county manager position was not his preference, he could be convinced to work toward that option if certain portions of the proposed document were changed, particularly the clauses that involve hiring and firing and the manager's contractual terms.

Sedor said that though she would be willing to look at the document again, she's not hopeful for a manager's appointment any time in the near future.

"I think the majority of this Legislature does not have the desire to change," Sedor said. " I really think we won't hear anything about this again."

Staff writer Linda Ober can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or linda.ober@lee.net