If Onondaga County Legislators have their way, the county will have a few more surplus desks to get rid of..
On Tuesday afternoon, the Legislature approved a local law that would reduce the size of the Legislature from 19 to 17. The plan still has to be approved by voters, most likely in November of next year.
Legislator Tom Buckel had hoped to reduce the Legislature to nine seats.
He says nationally, most counties the size of Onondaga have 3, 5 or 7 person legislatures. Buckel said a two seat reduction was a good start - even if he's one of the cuts.
"To me it's more than just the money, it's the signal that politicians are listening to people. They want to give people a chance to take control of their government and we're willing to start with ourselves. That's how serious we are," said Buckel.
Cutting two legislators is estimated to save taxpayers about $75,000 a year and would mean some extra work for the remaining 17.
"By decreasing it by two, every legislator is now representing an additional two to three thousand constituents," said Legislator Casey Jordan. "So now you become a little further removed from your constituency."
Some taxpayers were surprised to hear that politicians wanted to reduce their own ranks but said it was refreshing.
"It's definitely something that I think needs to happen and I appreciate that people are thinking in that larger scale," said local teacher Lucy Mumford.
"I mean if that's what they want, to scale things down - being part of the solution is where it starts," said Genevieve Pandori
If voters approve reducing the county legislature by two - Onondaga County would be broken up into 17 new legislative districts based on the latest census data.
