Clerk of the Legislature

Legislature Assistance & Meeting Minutes

The Legislature, as a whole, meets once a month on the fourth Monday. At that time they debate issues which primarily have come to them through the Legislative Committees. The Legislative Committees (six in number) also meet once a month. At those meetings department heads bring issues which they believe require action. Additionally, any Legislator may bring issues to both the committee level or the full Legislature for debate/action. Resolutions are prepared for the meeting of the full Legislature at which time, based upon the results of debate, they are adopted or defeated. 

This is the office that takes minutes of all meetings of both the full Legislature and all Legislative Committees, as well as any ad hoc committees of the Legislature. Ad Hoc committees are usually formed for a specific task, i.e., implementation of 911, and for a specific duration of time. At times this office has taken minutes for over 14 meetings per month. In addition to taking minutes of all meetings, we prepare and distribute agendas for all meetings, resolutions for the full Legislature meeting prior to adoption, resolutions are then distributed as directed following the meeting. We're a very busy office. The vast majority of work performed by this Office is governed by State rules and regulations and there are very strict time frames involved in just about every aspect of our work.

We also provide secretarial assistance to all 17 legislators, and manage the Office of Chairman of the Legislature.

County Records

The Clerk of the Legislature is also the County Records Access Officer. This is the person who you would contact if you wanted records pertaining to just about any issue connected with County government. This could range from minutes of meetings to documents specific to any particular department, i.e., maintenance records concerning a particular County road. The County has a very clear policy on records access by the public which complies with State regulations. The majority of County records are open to the public.

Law Adoption

When the Legislature wants to adopt a local law there are many procedural steps which must be followed. This office, following the regulations of the State of New York, makes certain that each step is carried out as specified and within the required time frame.

Journal of Proceedings of the Legislature

This Office prepares the Journal of Proceedings of the Legislature. This is a book which contains all of the minutes and resolutions adopted by the Legislature during the course of a calendar year. This book also contains the adopted County Budget, summaries of Town Budgets, and various reports. This is another example of what the State requires the County to prepare. Because of the number of people this Office comes into contact with, by virtue of the many duties we perform, the Clerk of the Legislature is the liaison for the Legislature with citizens of the County, local, State and Federal representatives, with whom we interact daily.

Legislature Policies & Directives

Additionally, the Clerk of the Legislature promotes the policies and directives of the Legislature within the context of County government.

Further Information

As you can see, this Office performs many, many functions for the governing body of the County. We are always available to the citizens of the County to answer any questions they may have or to direct complaints to the appropriate department or individual.

The Clerk of the Legislature is appointed directly by members of the Legislature. Currently the Clerk is Brenda Scotchmer. The office is also staffed by the Deputy Clerk.

If you have any questions about this office or any office of County Government feel free to call
607-664-2247 or email Brenda Scotchmer.