Local laws will impose term limits on Chemung Co. officials, but voters will have a say

Chemung County Executive Christopher Moss on Monday signed two new local laws that will limit how many times the executive and county legislators can run for office.

Under local laws No. 3 and 4, the county executive and lawmakers can serve no more than three consecutive four-year terms.

Moss and several legislators ran for election with term limits among their stated goals. The county legislature appointed five of its members — John Burin, Mike Saglibene, Tom Sweet, Scott Drake and Rodney Strange — to an advisory committee to develop a term limit plan.

"I would like to thank legislature Chairman Mark Margeson and the entire legislature for moving this legislation forward to the voters," Moss said after signing the bills.

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Once the legislation is filed with the state, it will become official, although voters will still have an opportunity to have the final say, Strange said.

Residents have 30 days to collect enough signatures to force a referendum vote on the issue in November, he said, but lawmakers want to give them that choice automatically.

The legislature will meet June 12 to vote on a resolution that would put the issue on the ballot for the November election whether there is a petition drive or not, according to Strange.

Before recommending the move, the committee contacted other counties that had term limits, and learned there are plusses and minuses, he said.

On the plus side, there are the opportunities to bring in new ideas and prevent lawmakers from becoming too entrenched, while conversely, term limits can also mean the loss of legislators with valuable experience, he said.

"This is a big enough issue the public should have the right to vote on it," Strange said. "I'm neutral on it. We're term-limited every four years."

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This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Some Chemung County officials will have term limits under new laws