Legislature approves service limits

SCHUYLER COUNTY—Schuyler County Legislators will now have limits on how many consecutive years they can serve. The legislature voted seven to one to enact legislative year limits during their regular meeting Monday, May 12. Legislator Tom Gifford was the only vote against the measure.
The newly approved local law imposes a limitation on the number of years to be held by members of the Schuyler County Legislature to not exceed 12 consecutive years. This limitation begins with the Jan. 1, 2015 term and does not take into account the number of accumulated years of the current sitting legislators. Attempts to implement service limits for legislators had been previously shot down by prior legislators, but this year’s influx of new legislators gave the measure enough votes in support to pass.
In other business:
• The legislature declared a negative State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) for the Schuyler County Comprehensive Plan during the meeting. The declaration indicates there was no significant finding of a negative environmental impact stemming from this plan. The legislature also adopted the countywide plan during the meeting and seeks to form an implementation committee to recommend feasible actions detailed in the plan.