File #: 24-LL-N    Version: Name:
Type: Local Law Status: Tabled
File created: 8/29/2024 In control: Rules Review and Legislative Modernization Committee
On agenda: Final action:
Title: LOCAL LAW NO. "N" FOR 2024: A LOCAL LAW OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, AMENDING THE ALBANY COUNTY CHARTER AND LOCAL LAW NO. 8 FOR 1993 AS AMENDED
Sponsors: Joanne Cunningham, Wanda F. Willingham
Attachments: 1. Charter Amendment Final ME, 2. Charter Amendment Final ME clean copy
LOCAL LAW NO. N FOR 2024
A LOCAL LAW OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY, NEW YORK, AMENDING THE ALBANY COUNTY CHARTER AND LOCAL LAW NO. 8 FOR 1993 AS AMENDED TO PROVIDE FOR AN OFFICE OF MEDICAL EXAMINER

Introduced: 9/9/24
By Cunningham, Willingham:

PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 10 AND 33 OF THE MUNICIPAL HOME RULE LAW, COUNTY LAW SECTION 400 AND SECTION 2702 OF THE ALBANY COUNTY CHARTER:

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the County of Albany as follows:

SECTION I. Legislative Intent:

In 2012, a Charter Review Commission was formed by this Honorable Body to determine what, if any, changes could be made to the then decade's old charter. The Commission met routinely over the course of a year and published recommended changes to the Charter, many of which sought to streamline processes or modernize the County's operations. To date, many of the proposed changes have been adopted, but a various substantive changes have evaded adoption. One major proposal by the Charter Review Commission was to replace the County's four, part-time Coroners with a single full-time Medical Examiner. This change would modernize death investigations in the County, a change that many other counties have adopted over the years.

[A second major proposal from the Charter Review Commission is to expand the governance of the Board of Contract Administration. The Board's authority was established in 1993, and provided oversight of contracts less than $100,000. The Charter Review Commission suggested increasing that amount based on inflation, which would have been $155,000 at the time of the Charter Review Commission's proposal. Today, that amount, adjusted for inflation, is approximately $215,000. The recommendation of the Charter Review Commission should be adopted to reflect the fact that the Board of Contract Administration is operating in 2024, and not 1993.

Finally, part of the recommendations of the Charter Review Commission was to incorporate var...

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