News Blog

Last night's County Legislature meeting was dominated by debate over the county fair proposal. But something else significant happened.

The Legislature — meaning the Legislature's Republican majority — did not pass legislation that would cut the Democrats' funding. When it came time to vote on the matter, Majority Leader Steve Tucciarello simply moved to table it. He offered no statement or explanation. The vote was quick and the legislators moved on the next item.

Because it's tabled, a legislator could move to bring it back up at a future meeting. Only time will tell whether that happens.

Tucciarello introduced the legislation last month. The legislation would require funding levels for the Republican and Democratic staff offices to be set every January. The proposal recognized the fact that the Legislature's makeup could change any January because of special elections, not just during the years when there are regular elections.

Democrats, however, said the legislation was political retribution. The Dems lost a seat in a November special election, and the legislation called for a mid-year cut to their budget. They would have lost approximately $16,000 of their $170,000 budget.