Mid-2014 county population estimates out tomorrow, March 26

[Torie]

"I just realized that MHR § 10.1.a.(1) forbids a city from changing the duties of city officials acting in their capacity as county officers (eg supervisors elected from Hudson).

Hudson can not change the districts from which supervisors are elected from."

Not sure why one follows from the other. In any event, assuming that the supervisors number remains at five from Hudson, as opposed to some other number, are you saying that the now illegal supervisor lines cannot be changed with County approval?

They are city officers who also have a county capacity. In their county capacity they represent their ward, and their voting weight is set accordingly. It makes no sense for Hudson to have five supervisors, and the larger Kinderhook to have but one.

Now it doesn't, but inasmuch for doing next to no work, the pay is more than 3 times that of an alderperson, that means 4 extra sinecures for Hudson politicians, and so we love it.

One thing I am wondering about, is if County approval is needed to change the number of supervisors in Hudson. I called the county counsel, and he did not know. I do know the county code says there are 23 supervisors, implying that County approval is needed. The county laws are not codified in any organized manner other than chronologically as to when adopted, in a stack sitting in the office of the county clerk, so it's basically chaos. There is a plot afoot to cut the number of wards down to three.

[Torie]

It is a mess, but I strongly suspect changing the number of supervisors from Hudson would require County approval. The city can change ward lines and supervisor lines without a referendum, but due to a lacunae in the Home Rule Law, cannot change weights except through a referendum. That leaves open the question that if the city changes the supervisor lines, is county approval required to change the supervisor weights of each supervisor for the division of the total voting weight allocated to Hudson.

[Torie]

The MHR law allows for counties to shift weights per the census without a referendum, but not cities (there is only one city in the US that has weighed voting, so presumably it was just overlooked). Folks get it confused, because it is not subject to to the once in 10 year rule, but that does not mean that it can be done without a referendum. They are two different laws.