AUBURN - It seems that the Cayuga County Legislature has a few things to clear up before changing the job description of the director of the county Mental Health Services and Community Services Board.

Legislator Ann Petrus pulled during Tuesday's monthly meeting of the county Legislature two resolutions proposing changes to local laws that describe the duties, powers and mode of selection and removal for both positions.

Petrus, chair of the county Health and Human Services Committee, pulled the two measures after three county health officials spoke out against the resolutions during a public hearing.

Community Services Board Chair Linda Albrecht and Vice Chair Deborah Schwarting, as well as Cayuga Counseling Services Executive Director Ray Bizzari, all stated during the hearing that the proposals would supersede state mental hygiene laws.

Albrecht told legislators that multiple state councils, including the state Office of Mental Health, have stated that passing the measures would be illegal.

"I believe it is also unnecessary," she said during the hearing.

The resolutions would essentially make both the director of county Mental Health Services and the executive director of the county Community Services Board serve at the pleasure of the Legislature.

This is already the case for the mental health director, but the Community Services Board currently has the authority to hire and fire its executive director, an authority Albrecht said is mandated by the state.

While both positions carry specific responsibility, they were both held by David Blair before he retired in February. Blair announced retirement after the county ethics board underwent an investigation into allegations that Blair accepted money from the National Alliance on Mental Illness for personal use.

Petrus said before tabling the resolutions that the county Legislature has an opportunity to review the concerns of the public. There could be some changes to the language of the resolution, she said.

"We want to make sure that, when we do this, we do it right," Petrus said.

She added after the meeting that she does not want to wait an entire month until the next Legislature meeting to vote on the issue. A special meeting could be called, Petrus said.

After the meeting both Schwarting and Albrecht expressed relief that the measures were pulled.

I'm glad they listened to us and they have confidence in us," Schwarting said. "It looks like they truly want to do what is best for the consumers of our services."

For the full report, read Wednesday's edition of The Citizen.