League of Women Voters Rensselaer County

LWV RENSSELAER COUNTY LOCAL PROGRAM POLICY POSITIONS - 2010-11
(Approved at the Annual Meeting – 5/27/10)

1. We will support and advocate for Local Government - County, City, Town, Village - operations, and County and City Charters that conform to the following principles:

A. Government, policies, programs and performance should provide for:

Competent personnel with clear lines of responsibility,
Coordination among various agencies and levels of government,
Adequate financing,
Effective enforcement, and
Well-defined channels for citizen input.

B. Charter amendments should provide for:

Independent Charter Revision Commissions that are representative of the community and do not include any elected or political party official at the local level.
A Districting Plan following each decennial census, after meaningful community participation.
The Districting Plan shall be guided by criteria in NYS Election Law which requires that districts be as compact, contiguous and convenient as possible. Also the plan as far as practical shall follow the principle of equal representation both numerically and by number of legislators from each district.

2. We will advocate for changing the present method of re-districting the Rensselaer County Legislature to a plan that shall:

Provide for equal representation for citizens both numerically and by number of elected representatives from each district, with preference for single-member districts as the system most prevalent and familiar to citizens and most likely to represent constituencies of similar interests and concerns.

Be prepared by an Independent Districting Commission with meaningful public participation that is representative of the community and does not include any elected County/political party official.

3. We will support and advocate for the League's Capital Region solid Waste Management consensus that includes:

Waste and toxicity reduction, and
Environmentally sound methods of recycling and reuse as primary forms of solid waste management.

Local Program