CARMEL- By a vote of 6-0 with Legislators William Gouldman, Erin Lee Crowley and Laura Russo absent, the Putnam Legislature in a special New Year’s Eve meeting adopted a local law changing the county’s charter that provides for a counsel for the legislative majority as well as an attorney for the nine member governing body’s minority.
During the past several months, the lawmakers have discussed the issue related to a system of checks and balances inherent in the separation of powers of each branch of government, determining that it was critically important to prevent the concentration of power in any one branch of government, preventing one branch from having supremacy over the other.
The majority of the legislators believed in order for the legislature to have the capacity to prepare legislation it required counsel separate from and not dependent upon the approval and resources of the executive and executive branch of government.
The legislature had its own legal counsel up until last year when it was abolished by the executive branch which appointed an attorney employed by the county attorney’s office.
The charter change now allows the legislative attorneys to oversee the preparation of local laws, ordinances, acts and resolutions; research problems related to the function, powers and duties of the legislature and its employees; prepare written reports while providing advice to members of the legislature on rules of order and procedural questions.
The legislators casting affirmative votes included Nancy Montgomery of Philipstown, the lone Democrat, Toni Addonizio of Kent, Dan Birmingham of Brewster, Paul Jonke of Southeast, Greg Ellner of Carmel and Chairwoman Amy Sayegh of Mahopac.
Montgomery forecast the change would “help us to work together as a group in addition to working with the county executive.”
Addonizio described the action as a “safeguard for local government,” while Legislator Ellner added: “This will assure the separation of powers and will help the legislature get it right.”
Jonke described the change as an “important piece of legislation that is the result of a witch hunt in 2024 when one member of the legislature who happens to be absent, sent a memo to the county attorney’s office resulting in the spending of $35,000 that ultimately led to the termination of a contract with our legislative counsel at that time. The executive branch also spent $52,000 to sue the legislature—a suit that was dropped at the last minute because there was no defense for the litigation.”
Jonke added the charter change would “help this body remain independent.”
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