Public weighs in on charter
Speakers call for greater enforcement
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » Nearly 20 residents attended Wednesday night’s public forum hosted by the current Charter Review Commission, raising questions about the Civil Service Commission, land-use boards, mayoral role and more as the 10-member commission plans to offer a new charter to be voted on in November.
Kenneth Klotz, former mayor of Saratoga Springs, offered recommendations based on his experience, explaining how the current charter has been “frequently ignored, implemented only partially or not at all.”
Klotz hopes the commission makes changes in order to enforce the charter. One of the items discussed during the first several meetings dealt with the mayoral role. Klotz believes the mayor
should keep the power of appointing land-use boards, should control the Capital Budget and should appoint the city attorney. Discussions have happened to potentially alter some of these powers from the mayor.
Mark Cacozza, the chairperson of the city’s Civil Service Commission, handed the commission a list of pros and cons if the city decided to abolish the Civil Service Commission and move to the county, based other cities throughout the state have done in previous years. Cacozza said the Civil Service Commission works fairly efficiently, but he offered technical changes to be considered, including the Civil Service Commission presenting their annual budget to the City Council, and not the mayor.
Two White Street residents stressed concerns about the Zoning Board of Appeals specifically, explaining how their neighborhood has been severely impacted by decisions made by the ZBA. They believe the Charter Review Commission should make some changes in regards to term-limits and writing conditions on the variances on their decisions.
Vince DeLeonardis, city attorney and chair of the commission, responded to the neighbors following the public forum portion of the evening.
“Much of what their concerns related to is unfortunately not something directly in the charter,” said DeLeonardis. “Those would be things by virtue of local law in regards to terms.”
Mayor Meg Kelly created the commission in March with the goal of finding efficiencies and organizational improvements to better serve the people who live and work in the City of Saratoga Springs in the commission form of government.
Barbara Thomas, a member of the former Charter Review Commission, recommended the commission consider an internal auditor for the finance department, similar to the one included in the proposed charter from last November’s election.
Mike Sharp, the deputy commissioner of finance, said the language in the charter about auditing is loose, but the commission hopes to strengthen the language to reflect the different types of audits (regular, quarterly and yearly) done throughout the year.
Additionally, Jane Weihe explained how she’s in favor of the commission form of government, specifically because it’s accessible and accountable. Wiehe urged the commission to keep two-year terms for City Council members.
The commission meets next June 13 at 4 p.m. in the City Council room.