Taxpayers should be furious they are paying Cayuga County Attorney Fred Westphal $90,000 a year to find a way for legislators to circumvent a term limit law approved by voters.

But Westphal not only went searching for a way to violate the spirit of the law, he was likely doling out very poor professional advice.

Local Law No. 7 (2.2.4) on Term Limits reads:

“No person shall serve as County Legislator for more than twelve (12) consecutive years.”

Despite the fact that Steve Netti resigned Dec. 30 and was reappointed Jan. 1, he cannot serve out his full term and must step down in 2007.

Why?

He will have served 12 consecutive years in 2007. He will have served as legislator every consecutive year since January 1, 1996, when the law went into effect.

Netti will not have served consecutive days (4,380 if you were wondering) over those 12 years, but the law makes no mention of days. Just as importantly, it does not state that the years be uninterrupted, nor complete.

Just consecutive.

It is that clear. And even if Westphal argues that its wording of the law is ambiguous (Westphal was working in the county attorney's office when the law was drafted in 1995, so he is condemning the work of his own office), a judge would defer to the intention of the law, which is very clear: No more than 12 years.

But Westphal - on the instruction of the Government Operations Committee in May 2005 - went looking for a way in which legislators would not have to put any revision of the law before voters. Because all county legislators know that the voters favor term limits, reopening that law for public input could wind up restricting their terms even further.

So Westphal went to work to find legislators a solution.

And the attorney thought he found one, which Netti exercised last month.

But he didn't.

Netti is still serving consecutive years, and his 12th consecutive year is in 2007, at which time he must step down as representative for District 15.