PUBLIC HEARING – LOCAL LAW #2

Monday, April 7, 2025 - 9:30 AM

Shaun Gillilland, Chairman

James Monty, Vice-Chairman

Chairman Gillilland called this Public Hearing to order at 9:30 am with the following Supervisors in attendance: Matthew Brassard, Chris Clark, Robin DeLoria, Derek Doty, Shaun Gillilland, Charlie Harrington, Ken Hughes, Steve McNally, James Monty, Favor Smith, Davina Thurston, Ike Tyler, Joe Pete Wilson, Margaret Wood and Mark Wright. Clayton Barber, Matt Stanley and Cathleen Reusser were excused.

Department Heads present: James Dougan, Judy Garrison, Dan Manning and Michael Mascarenas.

Also present: William Tansey.

News media: None present.

GILLILLAND: I will call this public hearing to order please and we’ll begin with the reading of the public hearing notice.

GARRISON: Notice of public hearing Proposed Local Law No. 2 of 2025.

Please take notice that the Essex County Board of Supervisors will hold and conduct a Public Hearing at the Supervisors’ Chambers at the Essex County Government Center, 7551 Court Street, Elizabethtown, New York on the 7^th of April, 2025 at 9:30 a.m., on the proposed Local Law No. 2 of 2025 entitled “A Local Law rescinding Local Law No. 4 of 2023 entitled ‘A local law relating to the creation of the independent office of Essex County Assigned Counsel.”

Please take further notice that at said public hearing to be held at the time and place set forth above, the Essex County Board of Supervisors will consider this proposed Local Law and hear all persons interested therein concerning the same.

Please take further notice that a copy of the full text of such proposed Local Law No. #2 of 2025 may be obtained upon request from the Clerk of the Board’s Office, 7551 Court Street, Elizabethtown, New York 12932.

Judith A. Garrison, Clerk Essex County Board of Supervisors, 7551 Court Street, Elizabethtown, NY 12932

(518) 873-3353

Dated: March 13, 2025

GILLILLAND: Thank you. I guess I will let the County Attorney give the laymen’s explanation.

MANNING: As I stated, I think at ways and means we originally had passed local law #2 establishing the office of Assigned Counsel in Essex County and within that law we had stated that the assigned counsel administrator, the day to day person there would be sort of the head of the office and the assigned counsel supervising attorney both positions which are required by New York State Indigent Legal Services by statue would be the second head person and it made sense to me that’s the way it should have been because the person in the office daily doing the day to day work and knowing most of what’s going on in my opinion should have been in charge of the assigned counsel office and not the assigned counsel supervising attorney. However, over the months as we keep navigating uncharted waters here with ILS they objected to that and they want the supervising attorney to be the “head” of the department and also felt that our assigned counsel plan that we have in place right now which does make the supervising attorney ahead of the department and the assigned counsel administrator be under he or she that we have to change that so what this does it rescinds that local law. In its place we have our assigned counsel plan, the assigned counsel supervising attorney is in my opinion a figure head still the assigned counsel administrator is doing the yamens work of the assigned counsel supervising attorney although the head of the department with various duties as a department head generally would have. It doesn’t have the duties the assigned counsel administrator does but it does have certain duties under ILS so that’s what this does.

GILLILLAND: Thank you. Any comments from the board? Questions? Being none. I don’t see any members of the public who wish to speak. Being none, we are adjourned.

As there was no further discussion to come before this public hearing it was adjourned at 9:34 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Judith Garrison, Clerk

Board of Supervisors