By HEATHER NELLIS

For the C-S-E

CANAJOHARIE — After attending the Montgomery County Charter Commission’s second public hearing Monday, several residents left unconvinced about the proposal to switch the county’s government to a legislature with an elected executive.

The majority of the support for the proposal came from some of the supervisors who attended, voicing their opinions about what they deemed inefficiencies of the system under which they currently operate, including criticism of weighted voting, executing legislative measures and follow-through, and having “too many chiefs.”

But Fort Plain resident Michael Kuhne and others couldn’t be swayed by those who may know the county’s government best.

“A new system is not going to solve the problems that are already there,” said Kuhne. “You’re not going to fix the problems if they run that deep.”

Others felt the same, like Chauncy Diefendorf, who told the commission “I don’t understand why you would need a big change. If it’s broke, why can’t you just fix it?”

“That’s what we’re trying to do,” said commission chairman and Fulton-Mont-gomery Community College President Dustin Swanger.

Last week, the commission decided their proposal would include recommendations to create an eight-legislature district with a “one man, one vote” system in conjunction with an elected executive with a veto power.

Glen Supervisor Lawrence Coddington, who heads the board’s Government Study Committee and has worked to change the county’s government, said he’s had discussions with 25 appointed administrators and elected executives across the state, and “eight members is no different than having seven or nine. All it means is you need five people to vote for something to have it pass. If it’s a tie, it doesn’t pass. It’s that simple.”

Coddington pointed out that the weight of his vote combined with two other smaller towns can be easily negated by just one supervisor of a larger town casting an opposite vote.

“There are too many agendas, so things never get done,” he said.

Additionally, Coddington said the board is supposed to act as legislators and executives, but the execution is lacking once resolutions are approved.

“There is no one to carry it out,” he said.

That’s where an executive would step in, Coddington said.

“It could be 9:15 in the morning, and a department head has a problem or idea, but the supervisor for that department might have a full-time job, so they might not be available till the next day, or even two days,” he said. “We need a day-to-day person employees can go to.”

Root Supervisor John Thayer was one official singing a different tune, however.

“Part of the inefficiencies is that the state mandates 75 percent of our budget,” he said. “The idea that going to this legislature is going to change our government is not necessarily so.”

Thayer was also critical the move wasn’t “budget neutral,” and it was noted the executive will likely have a salary of at least $80,000, plus benefits and costs of secretarial support.

Coddington admitted the proposal isn’t “budget neutral,” even if the county absorbs $70,000 from not having to pay seven $10,000 stipends with a board reduced from 15 members to eight. But he hopes the executive would be able to create budgetary efficiencies with the approximate 25 percent of the county’s budget that isn’t mandated by the state.

Faced with a $4 million shortfall for the upcoming 2013 budget, Coddington said “maybe it won’t change anything — but do we have anything to lose?”

But Angelika Hoeher of Fort Plain said she has a problem with creating another layer of government, as towns will still operate under an elected supervisor. She’s also weary the county will not be able to afford the additional layer.

Pointing to 2010 U.S. Census data, she noted the county’s population only increased 1 percent in a decade, while private non-farm employment dropped 6.5 percent.

“That means there are no jobs. I’m very concerned about government expanding and a tax base increase. Government is like cancer cells — they can multiply in the blink of an eye, and the next thing you know you have a massive government structure,” she said.

The charter commission will meet Wednesday for its weekly meeting and will host its third and final public hearing June 25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Riverfront Center in Amsterdam. Its proposal is due to the supervisors July 15.