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Wow, last post November (*embarassed look on face*).
Moving forward, Albany County Legislator Carl Zeilman, R, C, I-Colonie, announced this week that he would be presenting his colleagues with a detailed plan of how to trim the Albany County Legislature based on the 2010 Census results.
This means having representation based on population count in the municipalities it embodies.
Zeilman said the Albany County Legislature has 39 members, recieving a salary of about $21,000 each, with benefits, and that by trimming the 39, taxpayers will save "millions of dollars."
But trimming the legislature could lead to a heated debate between the cities and suburban towns contained in Albany County, the question being, do urban municipalities deserve more representation than suburban based on their population, when the county is mostly made up of suburban municipalities.
Zeilman said that Colonie has a growing population, and should technically recieve more representation in the legislature, but that his plan is working to achieve more fair distribution of representation.
Another element of his plan that could get some legislators heated is the process of elimination that would be used to trim the fat, if Zeilman's plan is enacted.
Zeilman said that while some legislators frequently recieve inquiries from their constituents about legislation they are working on, others almost never interact with their constituents and that perhaps the ones that don't are using their positions in the legislature as retirement fluff.
Zeilman proposes head-to-head primary races to determine who is best fit to represent the districts.
Do you think the Albany Count Legislature is too big? If so, what do you think should be done to weed out the dead weight from those who are making a difference in your county?
