Legislature postpones new hire

YATES COUNTY--In a special meeting Thursday, March 16, the Yates County legislature considered a motion to hire a new county administrator and budget officer. It was brought up first thing in the meeting by District II Legislator Terry Button.
There initially was no discussion, before Chairwoman Leslie Church said, "I'm a little disappointed that this has come to the floor this way, because we have not finished the discussion that was held at the last meeting, but if that is your intent, to push this through, then..."
A second motion to postpone the decision to appoint the administrator was brought and passed by a vote of 8 to 3.
Secondly, the legislators discussed the need to develop a plan that will dictate how to handle county funds that are deposited in banks and exceed the $250,000 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured limit. There have been several high-profile bank closures or consolidations in the past two weeks, leading to national reporting about bank stability. While the federal government has protected bank customers up to this point, discussions about maintaining trust in lending institutions have been a topic of recent oversight hearings. It was pointed out in the local meeting that the state regulates where counties can deposit funds. Legislators also pointed out that the funds are tax-payer dollars, and the county has a responsibility to make sure they're safe.
Finally, legislators considered voting on a labor agreement for the Council 82 corrections unit. The group moved to executive session, where at the end of the meeting it was voted down.