ORLEANS COUNTY

www.orleansny.com

Area                                                                                                      396 square miles

Population                                                                                              44,171

Established                                                                                            April 15, 1825

 

ORLEANS COUNTY LEGISLATURE

3 South Main Street

Albion, NY 14411-1495

585-589-7053

Fax:  585-589-1618

 

District 1

Towns of Barre, Clarendon, Shelby

 

William H. EicK                                                                                      Phone: 735-7363

10471 Freeman Road                                                                             

Medina, NY 14103

District 2

Towns of Ridgeway and Yates

 

John W. Beedon                                                                                      Phone: 766-0028

P. O. Box 311

11329 Shadigee Lane

Lyndonville, NY  14098

District 3

Towns of Albion and Gaines

 

Henry Smith, Jr.                                                                                     Phone: 682-4839

2371 Gaines Waterport Rd.

Albion, NY 14411

District 4

Towns of Carlton, Kendall, Murray

 

Kenneth E. Rush, Vice Chairman                                                                 Phone:  682-5546

1986 Main Street

Waterport, NY 14571

At Large

 

Donald J. Allport                                                                                                Phone:  589-5496

3008 Crandall Road

Albion, NY 14411

At Large

 

George R. Bower, Chairman                                                                        Phone:  638-6051

16567 Holley Road

Holley, NY 14470

At Large

 

David B. Callard                                                                                      Phone:  798-1507

3728 Fruit Avenue

Medina, NY 14103

 

Charles H. Nesbitt, Jr.                                    589-7053                                    Nadine P. Hanlon

Chief Administrative Officer                                                             Legislative Clerk

cnesbitt@orleansny.com                                                                          hanlonn@orleansny.com

 

2007 STANDING COMMITTEES

 

Legislative (Bower, Rush)

 

Administration & Finance (Callard, Eick, Bower)

 

Public Safety (Smith, Allport, Bower)

 

Home & Community Services (Eick, Callard Bower)

 

Health (Allport, Smith, Bower)

 

Economic Assistance & Opportunity (Beedon, Rush, Bower)

 

Elections (Beedon, Rush, Bower)

 

Highway (Rush, Beedon, Bower)

 

Industrial Development Agency (Beedon, Allport, Bower)

 

RULES OF PROCEDURE

Amended June 5, 1981, February 5, 1981, January 2, 1982, January 6, 1983, January 5, 1984, January 2, 1986, September 9, 1987, January 13, 1988, January 20, 1988, April 13, 1988, January 11, 1989, January 10, 1990, January 4, 1991, January 2, 1992, March 10, 1993, January 6, 1994, January 26, 1994, January 10, 1996, January 28, 2004, January 11, 2006, December 27, 2006.

 

MEETINGS

1.       The organizational meeting of the Orleans County Legislature shall be held at 4:30 p.m. on the first Thursday after the first Wednesday in January, at which time the Orleans County Legislature shall organize and elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman for a term of two years and a Clerk to hold office at the pleasure of the Legislature.

 

2.  The Legislature, at its organizational meeting or any meeting thereafter, may elect a Vice-Chairman who shall have and exercise all the powers and duties of the Chairman over County business at meetings and otherwise.  Provided, however, that the Vice-Chairman shall only be authorized to act to the extent and for the period of time so designated by the Chairman in writing to the Clerk of the Legislature and the Vice-Chairman.  Provided, further, that said designation by the Chairman of authority for the Vice Chairman shall only be given by the Chairman in the event the Chairman deems he is incapable of adequately conducting County affairs for a temporary period of time whether as a result of absence from the County or illness. The election of a Vice-Chairman shall coincide with the term of the Chairman.

 

3.  The regular meetings of the Legislature, after the said organizational meeting, shall be held on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. Any meeting may be adjourned to such date as may be fixed by the adjournment motion.

 

4.  Special meetings shall be held at the call of the Clerk upon direction of the Chairman or upon written request signed by a majority of the members of the Legislature.  A notice in writing stating the time, place and purpose of the special meeting shall be sent 48 hours before the date fixed for holding the meeting, or a member may waive the service of a notice for such meeting in writing signed by him.  Only business specified in the notice may be transacted at a special meeting.

 

5.     Conference sessions of the Legislature shall be held at 2:30 p.m. in the afternoon on the days the Legislature meets for regular sessions.

 

MAJORITY AND MINORITY LEADERS

6.  To facilitate the communication of County business between the Chairman and the members of the Legislature belonging to the two major political parties, the members of the Legislature belonging to the political party having the greatest number of votes of said Legislature shall annually choose from such members a “Majority Leader”, and the members of the Legislature belonging to the political party having the second greatest number of votes on said Legislature shall annually choose a “Minority Leader.”  The names of such Majority Leader and Minority Leader shall be submitted to the Clerk of the Legislature in writing signed by the members of each party.

 

COMMITTEES

7.  The Chairman of the Orleans County Legislature shall make standing, special committee and liaison appointments within ten (10) days from the date of the organizational meeting, or as needed, and shall file a list of appointments with the Clerk who is directed to deliver a copy of the list and/or amendments to the list to each Legislator within three (3) days after appointment is made.  Standing Committees may consist of one (1) to three (3) member depending on need.  The first person named to a committee shall be Chairman.  Chairmanship shall pass, when the Chairman is absent, in the order the additional members are named.

8.  The Chairman of the Orleans County Legislature shall be an ex-officio member of all standing committees without voting power, except in the event of a tie vote by committee members.  When the committee is a “Committee of one”, and the Committee member is absent, then the Chairman of the Legislature will assume Chairmanship of that committee with voting power.

 

STANDING COMMITTEES

9.  The following shall be the Standing Committees of the Orleans County Legislature with responsibility for the programs and appropriations indicated.

 

   Legislative

      Chief Administrative Officer

          Clerk of the Legislature

          County Attorney

          Emergency Management Office

          Employee Assistance Program

          Fire Advisory Board

          Historian

          Off Track Betting

          Safety Committee

    

   Administration & Finance

          Budget Officer

          Communications Technology Committee

          Computer Services

          County Clerk

          Delinquent Taxes

          Education (Community College, Medical Scholarship, Libraries)

          Equalization & Assessment

          Records Management

      Treasurer

          Personnel & Self-Insurance

 

Industrial Development Agency

 


Public Safety

          Animal Control Officer

          Courts

          District Attorney

          Emergency Medical Services

          Probation

          Public Defender

      Sheriff

          Stop DWI

 

   Home & Community Services

          Parks

      Planning & Economic Development

                    Soil & Water Conservation

                    Solid Waste

                    Tourism

                    Cooperative Extension

                    Rochester Genesee Regional Transportation Authority

 

          Health

               ARC

               Health Miscellaneous

               Mental Health – Community Services Board

               Physically Handicapped Children

               Public Health

         

      Economic Assistance & Opportunity

               Housing Assistance

               Job Development

               Nursing Home

               Office for the Aging

               Social Services

               Veterans Service Agency

               Youth Board

 

      Elections

               Board of Elections

 

      Highway

               Buildings & Grounds

               Highway

               Weights & Measures


    The Standing Committees shall advise the Legislature on matters of policy.  Presence of a majority shall constitute a quorum for committee purposes.  Standing Committees shall meet at the Chairman’s call, and the Chairman shall report to the Legislature at the Conference Session.  All Standing Committee Meetings shall be held on not less than 24 hours written notice to the members or not less than 72 hours written notice shall be mailed to the members, except in the case of emergency when telephone notice to the members shall be deemed sufficient proper notice.

 

ORDER OF BUSINESS

10.     A.          Call to Order

B.     Pledge to the Flag

C.     Presentation of Communications, Petitions

D.    Open Discussion

E.     New Business; Policy Items and Routine Items

F.     Unfinished Business

G.     Adjournment

 

ORDER AND DECORUM

11. The Chairman shall preserve order at the session and have power to call any member of the Board temporarily to the Chair, and shall appoint all committees of the Board unless specifically ordered.

 

A member desiring to speak or present any subject to the Board shall address the Chair, and shall not proceed further until recognized by the Chair and awarded the floor for such purpose.  No member shall speak more than once on any question, or in any case, until every member choosing to speak shall have spoken; nor more than twice without consent of the Board.

 

RULES OF DEBATE

12. A debate shall not be in order until the pending questions have been stated by the Chair.

 

When two or more members arise to speak at the same time, the Chair shall determine who is entitled to the floor.

 

A member, called to order, shall immediately sit down, unless permitted to explain; if an appeal is taken from the decision of the Chairman, the Board shall decide the case without debate, and the question to be stated by the Chair shall be, “Shall the decision of the Chair stand as the judgment of the Board?”

 

MOTIONS AND THEIR PRECEDENCE

13. A motion for the reconsideration of the vote upon any question shall not be entertained unless made by one who voted in the majority upon such question.

 

A motion for the reconsideration of any question has been made and when decided in the negative, no proposition for further reconsideration shall be entertained.  When a roll call is requested, the member making the original motion shall vote first, followed by voting of members in alphabetical order.

 

14. A motion to “call the question” shall require a second and must be approved by a 2/3 majority.  Upon such a motion and second, all amendments and debate shall cease until the question is decided.

 

15. Members present possessing 50% of the total voting power shall constitute a quorum for the transacting of business.  If a quorum is not present within 30 minutes after the time set for a meeting, the members present shall adjourn.

 

MINUTES

16. The Clerk shall deliver or mail copies of the Minutes of each meeting of the Legislature and Standing Committees to each member of the Legislature within seven (7) days after said meeting, and the Minutes shall be deemed approved as filed.  A reading of the Minutes or corrections, thereof, may be directed by majority vote at a meeting within twenty (20) days following the meeting date of the Minutes.

 
AGENDA

17.  The agenda for the regular meetings of the Legislature shall be prepared by the Chairman of the Legislature, with the assistance of the Clerk of the Legislature.  Items will be placed on the Agenda in any of the following ways:

 

1.       From the conference session

2.     With the mutual consent of the Committee Chairman and the Chairman of the Legislature

3.     From the request of two (2) Legislators

4.     From the Chairman of the Legislature

 

All items to be placed on the agenda must be received by the Clerk of the Legislature not later than 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the Regular Meeting. Resolutions must be submitted in draft form as prescribed by the Clerk and must contain essential information.  Draft Resolutions must be accompanied by all appropriate supporting documentation such as:

 

Contracts, fact sheets, Civil Service forms, Grant Applications.

 

The submitting department shall be responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in the Draft Resolution.

 

Emergency items, which if left unattended, would have a significant negative impact on the county, may be added to the Agenda on the day of the Regular Meeting with a majority vote of the members present at the Conference Session.  Such vote will not be in order until the resolution is printed in final form and reviewed by the Chairman, Committee Chairman, as well as the Chief Administrative Officer, County Attorney, and Budget Officer, when appropriate.

 

CONFERENCE SESSION

The Conference Session Agenda shall be prepared after consultation with the Chairman of the Legislature and Standing Committee by the Chief Administrative Officer.

 

The Agenda may indicate which matters have prime policy impact to the County and which matters are routine.  Items to appear on the Conference Session Agenda shall be given to the Chief Administrative Officer by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the Conference Session.  Any additional matters needing discussion may be added to the Agenda at a Legislator’s request the day of the Session.

 

NOTIFICATION

Copies of the Conference Session and Regular Meeting Agenda, as well as all resolutions will be mailed to the County Legislators, the County Treasurer, and County Attorney no later than noon on the Monday preceding the meeting.  Should an emergency arise which prevents this mailing, these items will be delivered to the residence of each Legislator no later than 5:00 p.m. Monday.

 

 

18. The open discussion portion of the agenda is a time set-aside for any Legislator or individual to initiate discussion of any item pertaining to the business of the County or its Legislature.  Any person other than a Legislator must register with the Clerk of the Legislature at least fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of the Legislature meeting.  The person shall specify the subject to be discussed and will be limited to five (5) minutes per subject.  The open discussion portion shall last not more than one hour.

 

19. No appointment, including reappointment, required to be made by the Legislature, or by the Chairman with the approval of the Legislature, to any Board, Agency, Commission or similar body shall be made unless each member of the Legislature is notified in writing of the vacancy; and the term, at least ten (10) days prior to the filling of any such vacancy.  In the case of policy making Boards, including the Community Services Board, the Public Health Board and the County Industrial Development Agency, no appointments shall be made until the nominees have been interviewed by the Legislature.

20. Any rule may be suspended by the consent of two-thirds of the total membership of the Orleans County Legislature.  A person, upon offering a motion to suspend the Rule in order to place an item on the agenda, shall state the nature of the resolution to be added to the agenda.

 

21. All questions not covered in the rules shall be decided according to Robert’s Rules of Order, Revised. 

 

22. Conference session agendas shall be prepared after consultation with the Chairman of the Legislature and Standing Committees, by the Chief Administrative Officer.  The agenda shall be sent or delivered to each Legislator at least forty-eight (48) hours in advance of the meeting.

 

The agenda shall indicate which matters have prime policy impact to the County and which matters are routine.  Items to appear on the Conference Session Agenda should be given to the Chief Administrative Officer by 5:00 p.m. on the Wednesday preceding the Conference Session.  Any additional matters needing discussion may be added to the agenda at a Legislator’s request the day of the session.

 

QUESTIONS LAID OVER BY REQUEST

23.     All reports of Standing Committees on the Auditing of Accounts, the report of the Committee on Equalization, and any resolution which by the terms thereof, calls for an appropriation of money, upon the request of any member of the Legislature shall lie over at least one meeting day before being acted upon.

 

24.The succession of executive authority to be exercised in the absence of the Chairman of the Orleans County Legislature, (in addition to that already established for emergency situations by Local Law No. 2 of 1980) is as follows:

 

EXECUTIVE SUCCESSION

                 Legislator Kenneth Rush, District 4

                 Legislator John W. Beedon, District 2

                 Legislator Donald J. Allport, At Large

                 Legislator Henry Smith, Jr., District 3

                 Legislator David B. Callard, At Large

                 Legislator William H. Eick, District 1

 

AUDITING SCHEDULE

                 January & October                     J. Beedon

                 February & March                        W. Eick

                 April & November                     H. Smith

                 May & September                    D. Callard

                 June & December                      K. Rush

                   July & August                                     D. Allport


 

                               New York State Government

 

Eliot Spitzer                     716-847-7120                       518-474-8390

The State Capitol                   Buffalo, NY 14202                      Albany, NY 12224

 

                                    Lieutenant Governor

 

David A. Patterson                                          518-486-4101

 

                                        United States Senate

 

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton                               United States Senate

Guaranty Building – Suite 208                                     Washington, D.C.  20510

28 Church Street, Buffalo, NY  14202                                       202-224-4451

716-854-9725

                                                     

Senator Charles E. Schumer                                   United States Senate

130 S. Elmwood Avenue, Room 660                               Washington, D.C. 20510

Buffalo, NY 14202                                                    202-224-6542

716-846-4111   Fax: 716-846-4113                                                     

100 State Street – Room 3040

Rochester, NY  14614   716-263-5866

 

                        United States House of Representatives

                             26th Congressional District

               Albion, Barre, Clarendon, Gaines, Murray, Ridgeway, Shelby

 

Hon. Thomas M Reynolds

500 Essjay Road – Suite 260              1577 W. Ridge Road                332 Cannon - HOB

Williamsville, NY  14221                      Rochester, NY  14626               Washington, D.C. 20515

716-634-2324         585-663-5570                                    202-225-5265

716-634-2325        

 

                        United States House of Representatives

                             28th Congressional District

                               Carlton, Kendall, Yates

 

Hon. Louise Slaughter                                            2369 Rayburn - HOB

3120 Federal Bldg. – 100 State Street                                 Washington, D.C. 20515

Rochester, NY  14614                                                    202-225-3615

585-232-4850                                                          FAX:  202-225-7822

                        New York State Senate

                        62nd Senatorial District

 

George D. Maziarz                                           811 Legislative Office Bldg.

2578 Niagara Falls Blvd.      Albany, NY 12247

Wheatfield, NY 14.304                                                   518-455-2024

716-731-8740       FAX:  716-731-8746                                   FAX:  518-426-6987

Website:  www.senatormaziarz.com                          Email: maziarz@senate.state.ny.us

 

 

                        New York State Assembly

                          139TH Assembly District

 

Steve Hawley                                              433 Legislative Office Bldg.

121 N. Main Street                                                   Albany, NY 12248

Albion, NY  14411                                                      518-455-5811

585-589-5780      FAX: 585-589-5813                                                      FAX:  518-455-5558


County, Surrogate & Family Court Judge

                        Courthouse Square

Hon. James P. Punch                              589-4457

Deborah R. Berry, Chief Clerk                                  Surrogate’s Court

Laurie A. Bower, Chief Clerk                                  Family Court

Barbara Hale, Chief Clerk                                     County & Supreme

                        COUNTY DEPARTMENTS

 Albion, New York  14411

Animal Control Officer

Kathleen Smith                                                  589-5527

13925 Route 31 West – Suite 400

 

Budget Officer

Charles H. Nesbitt, Jr.                                                589-7053    FAX:  589-1618

Susan M. Heard, Deputy                                                  589-5353    FAX:  589-9220

 

Buildings & Grounds

Mark Watts, Superintendent                                         589-2820    FAX:  589-2823

Jim Noreck, Assistant                                                                      E-mail:  mwatts@orleansny.com

14014 Route 31 West

 

Chief Administrative Officer

Charles H. Nesbitt                                                             589-7053   FAX:  589-1618

3 South Main Street                                                  E-mail:  cnesbitt@orleansny.com

 

Clerk of Legislature

Nadine P. Hanlon                                                  589-7053   FAX:  589-1618

3 South Main Street                                                  E-mail: hanlonn@orleansny.com    

 

Computer Services

Charles Kinsey, Director                                               589-0387   FAX:  589-0389

34 East Park Street                                                  E-mail:  ckinsey@orleansny.com

 

Coroners

Scott Schmidt            589-4471(w)   589-6337 (h)                        Charles Smith           798-2000(w)

John R. Thompson III, MD   589-0743(w)  798-1225 (h)                                                    798-4055(h)

Joseph T. Fuller   589-5627(w)
County Attorney

David C. Schubel                                                                        798-2250  FAX:  798-0776

John C. Gavenda, Assistant                                                          589-8033

James D. Bell, Assistant         

Susan Howard Silleman, Assistant                                              E-mail:  occoa@orleansny.com

P.O. Box 606                                                                             Medina, NY 14103

 

County Clerk

Karen Lake-Maynard                                                                       589-5334    FAX:  589-0181

Diane L. Shampine, Deputy                                                  Susan Rustay, Deputy

3 South Main Street                                                              E-mail:  lakemaynardk@orleansny.com

 

District Attorney

Joseph Cardone                                                                                    590-4127    FAX:  590-4129

Diane M. LaVallee, 1st Assistant                                                          E-mail:  da@orleansny.com

Katherine Kersch Bogan, 2nd Assistant

Susan Howard Silleman, 3rd Assistant

13925 Route 31 West – Suite 300