Cayuga County legislators are waiting for a ruling from the state before changing the job description for the county's director of the Community Services Board.
However, they will still move ahead with a proposal concerning the Mental Health director.
The Legislature will hold a special meeting July 7 during which members will vote for or against setting a public hearing on a proposed local law regarding the county's Community Mental Health Services director.
If the resolution is approved, the public hearing will take place at the next meeting of the Legislature on July 22. Legislators would also vote on the proposed law at the same meeting.
The special gathering comes on the heels of the Legislature's June 24 decision to pull two resolutions proposing to change the duties, powers and mode of selection and removal for both positions.
If they passed, the resolutions would have changed two local laws to have both positions serve at the pleasure of the Legislature.
Before those resolutions were pulled, members of the Community Services Board and other mental health organizations spoke out against the resolutions, saying the state mandates that the Community Services Board currently has the authority to hire and fire its executive director.
Roger Mills, chairman of the Legislature, said Monday that the county is awaiting a ruling by the office of the state attorney general as to whether it can change the terms of service for the director of the board.
“It sits until we get a ruling,” Mills said.
“How long that will take, I would not want to guess.”
But while the county waits for a ruling on the director of the board, it can go ahead and make changes to the other position, Mills said.
The Mental Health director is a county department head, and it already serves at the pleasure of the Legislature.
“There wasn't any question related to the second local law,” Mills said. “Now, we're going back through and adopting that law.”
The two positions carry specific responsibility, but both were held by David Blair before he announced his retirement in February.
Blair stepped down amid a dispute with county legislators regarding who has oversight over his job.
The special meeting next week will start at 5:15 p.m. Monday on the sixth floor of the county office building, 160 Genesee St.
The Legislature will hold a special meeting July 7 during which members will vote for or against setting a public hearing on a proposed local law regarding the county's Community Mental Health Services director.
If the resolution is approved, the public hearing will take place at the next meeting of the Legislature on July 22. Legislators would also vote on the proposed law at the same meeting.
The special gathering comes on the heels of the Legislature's June 24 decision to pull two resolutions proposing to change the duties, powers and mode of selection and removal for both positions.
If they passed, the resolutions would have changed two local laws to have both positions serve at the pleasure of the Legislature.
Before those resolutions were pulled, members of the Community Services Board and other mental health organizations spoke out against the resolutions, saying the state mandates that the Community Services Board currently has the authority to hire and fire its executive director.
Roger Mills, chairman of the Legislature, said Monday that the county is awaiting a ruling by the office of the state attorney general as to whether it can change the terms of service for the director of the board.
“It sits until we get a ruling,” Mills said.
“How long that will take, I would not want to guess.”
But while the county waits for a ruling on the director of the board, it can go ahead and make changes to the other position, Mills said.
The Mental Health director is a county department head, and it already serves at the pleasure of the Legislature.
“There wasn't any question related to the second local law,” Mills said. “Now, we're going back through and adopting that law.”
The two positions carry specific responsibility, but both were held by David Blair before he announced his retirement in February.
Blair stepped down amid a dispute with county legislators regarding who has oversight over his job.
The special meeting next week will start at 5:15 p.m. Monday on the sixth floor of the county office building, 160 Genesee St.
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