10 Ashley Way,

Troy, NY 12180
April 15, 2010
Hon. Kathleen Jimino
Rensselaer County Executive
1600 7th Ave.
Troy, NY 12180

Dear Ms. Jimino:

In advance of the Public Hearing you have scheduled for Monday April 19, 2010 on the Local Law which
permits certain members of the County Legislature to engage in the practice of holding two elective
offices, permit me to offer the following concerns in opposition to the passage of the law. I would also
ask that this letter be read into the record at the Public Hearing which I cannot attend.

First, I believe there is a serious equal protection argument arising from the law as written in that the
County Legislature permitted only those legislators elected from the towns to simultaneously serve on a
town board. It failed to permit legislators elected from the county’s two cities to serve simultaneously
on their respective city councils.

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court requires
that the governments apply the law equally to all citizens or classes of citizens. The law passed by the
County Legislature fails to treat all county legislators equally with regard to its application and
empowerment to hold a second elective office on a city council, even though a Charter County has the
authority to do so. The Courts have consistently held that when such outcomes fail to provide equal
opportunity for all those who are the intended beneficiaries of the legislation, the law fails to uphold
this significant Constitutional test.

Clearly, this law as written and passed deviates from the law passed by the County Board of Supervisors
some 40 years ago. That so called two hat law permitted all legislators to hold a dual office on either a
town board or city council with the exception, still enforced, of the offices of Mayor or Town Supervisor.

It seems apparent that the Legislature’s intent in crafting the new law was to prevent the minority party
in the Legislature from seeking seats on the Troy City Council. Only one Legislator from the majority
party from the City of Renssselaer, was similarly discriminated against. I therefore request that you
subject the law to a rigorous and thorough review by the County Attorney and hopefully veto the
legislation if that review cannot be completed within the 30 day window in which you have veto
authority.

Secondly and equally important, is the fact that permitting county legislators to serve in a second
elective office fails to serve the public interest and opens the door to the potential for conflicts of
interest arising from service on a town board or city council. Nowhere is this conflict more apparent
than the county’s sale tax agreement with the towns. As a county legislator, one’s first consideration
must be the impact of such a revenue sharing agreement on the county’s budget. Counties not towns,
are empowered to impose a sales tax. It is next to the property tax, a critical source of revenue to fund
the operations of county government and its increasing mandate responsibilities.
Town Board members must look at the sales tax agreement from an entirely different perspective. They
must argue vociferously for their fair share of this revenue to pay for town services and town budgets.
However, town board members have little concern for the budget crisis and pressures facing the county
and the enormous financial problems you have presented as arising from the current economic decline.

I also believe it sends the wrong message to the taxpayers of Rensselaer County and those of the towns
to suggest that a County Legislator’s responsibilities are not significantly important to require that one’s
part time efforts be solely dedicated to the service of the county during a term of office. The same may
be said of a town board member who routinely must spend 20 hours a week to properly perform their
duties. I know from my experience as a County Legislator for more than 20 years that 30 hours a week
service was the norm and I am sure that the demands on this office are no less today than when I served
in the Legislature.

Finally, it has become clear that despite past practice by legislators this legislation must be weighed in
light of the realities of our time. The perception created by allowing county legislators to serve on town
boards creates the appearance of greed, of double dipping into the public trough and the State’s
Retirement System. During these challenging fiscal times with a State budget deficit estimated at 8
billion dollars and towns like North and East Greenbush facing substantial large deficits in their own
right, Rensselaer County should lead by example and prevent this appearance of greed from taking
place. This is especially so after controversial legislative pay raises and a new projected county deficit
which should be the principle focus of every member of the county legislature rather than running a
new campaign in the middle of their term of office.

I respectfully ask that you veto this legislation for all of the reasons stated above and place the public
interests ahead of the interests of a partisan majority of legislators who think very differently from the
legislators of most counties in our State.

Respectfully submitted,

Daniel C. Ashley
PH:271-8744

CC: RCL