Last week’s City Council meeting saw two impassioned pleas from residents against the proposed reduction of supervisors to the Saratoga County Board from two to one. (The recommendation was part of a larger plan by a charter review commission created by Mayor John Safford last year.)
First, Gordon Boyd asked, “Why would a city that supplies more than one fifth of the county’s total tax revenue want to have only 123rd of the representation?” He also estimated that the move would reduce our representation in various committees by half — all leading him to call the suggestion “an undemocratic recommendation” that “effectuates a policy of taxation without representation.”
Downtown’s Robin Baxter agreed, calling the recommendation “unfathomable.”
The Public Comment Period struck a chord with Safford, who said, “We heard very clearly that the idea of supervisor should be…two or more instead of one or more. So we’re hearing what you’re saying. We certainly are taking it under consideration.” From Saratoga Dispatch. Gordon Boyd also wrote a letter on the topic to the Mayor and council members; the full text is here.