Each Thursday, we put one of our local newsmakers On The Spot. This week: Cayuga County Legislature Chairman George Fearon

After years of sincere attempts to reform county government, the Board of Supervisors was abolished in 1972 and the Cayuga County Legislature was created.

Since then the county Legislature has tried to find ways to further improve county government.

Three times the Legislature has considered a full-time

county manager position

as a response

to the increasing complexities of running

county government.

Each time members have initiated ballot propositions, they have failed because of division within the legislature.

With the current structure that includes a chairman elected by the legislators from among the 15 sitting members, there is no guarantee that any of the 15 have the ability to do the job.

There is also no assurance that the most able members

would be willing to serve as chairman.

Often qualified members are unable to serve as chairman because of other commitments. The Legislature could face the dilemma of having the only willing candidates being ones who do not possess the skills to do the job.

The worst scenario would be that no member of the Legislature was willing to take the position. In no way do I wish to demean the service to the county provided by the chairmen who preceded me.

We have been fortunate up to now with the caliber of chairmen who have served us.

Throughout the county, I have heard voters say they want a change in the way county government operates.

This Legislature will soon answer its constituents by

voting on a well-written manager plan.

This plan will provide the reform to Cayuga County's government that the public has long desired.

Our goal will be for the new manager to have enough power to perform his/her job and not be micro-managed by the Legislature itself.

The Legislature should then concentrate on setting policy, thereby allowing the professional staff to administer the day-to-day work.

At last we will stop gam-bling with the complex finan-

cial realities of county government.

We will replace an outmoded system of legislative leadership that has been comparable to rolling dice or spinning a roulette wheel.