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Community Corner

Village Trustee Terms Should Remain Two Years Long

To the Editor:

            At our last regular Village Board meeting a resident proposed that the Village Board should propose a law which would increase the length of Village Trustee terms from two years to four.  The Village Board will be discussing this proposed change in a work session in either late February or early March. I believe that if terms were extended to four years it would make Village Trustees less accountable to the public.

             One of the negatives of this proposal is that if a new Trustee is serving a four year term and you find out one year into their term that they are not serving the best interests of the village then you are stuck with them for three more years rather than just one. While proponents of this proposal will argue that one of the benefits of four year terms is that you can accomplish more in four years than in two, under the current system if a trustee has served in office for two years and wants to serve for two more years than the public can choose whether or not they want that trustee to remain in office for another two years. If this proposal gets passed, it would take that choice away from the voters.

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            Over the years, and fairly frequently in recent years, some  trustees have been unable to complete a full two year term. If trustee terms are increased to four years, we will have fewer trustees who get on the Village Board by getting elected and more trustees getting on the Village Board through mayoral appointments. This proposed change would move the selection of trustees further away from the voting public. 

            In addition to those negatives, increasing terms from two to four years will increase the benefit that trustees receive from incumbency. When you are an incumbent elected official as I am, your chances at getting re-elected are increased from the exposure you receive as an elected official. Increasing the length of terms will make it harder for residents to boot incumbents out of office.

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            For these reasons as well as many others, increasing trustee terms to four years will make trustees less accountable to the public. I encourage all residents to voice their concerns with my colleagues on the Village Board until we can get this proposal tabled.

Sincerely,

Kevin W. Davis

Croton-On-Hudson Village Trustee (D)

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