MINORITY LEADER HIGHLIGHTS CAUCUS INITIATIVES
Oros speaks about reforms at the Westchester County Association Breakfast

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 15, 2006

Contact: George Oros, 914.995.2828, Oros@westchesterlegislators.com

Today, County Legislator George Oros (R—Cortlandt) joined his colleagues on the Board of Legislators at the Rye Town Hilton to participate in the Westchester County Association’s Annual Legislative Breakfast.

Legislator Oros, who is serving his second term as Minority Leader, spoke about some of the initiatives members of the minority are working on this year.

“Our caucus is dedicated to reforming aspects of county government to make it more open and inclusive while saving taxpayers money,” said Oros. “We’ve come up with a number of tangible proposals that would increase accountability and help the county function more sufficiently.”

(Minority Leader George Oros speaks to members of WCA.)

The following is a list of Republican sponsored initiatives:

• Reforming the County’s Board of Acquisition & Contract.
o The Republican caucus is pushing for greater accountability of the millions of dollars that go through this Board without legislative approval on a weekly basis.
• Changing key dates on the budget calendar.
o Under our proposal, the Board of Legislators would have to approve the County’s budget before Election Day in November.
• Establish a Committee for Fair Compensation.
o The responsibilities of CFC would be to analyze pay raises for legislators with more public input while insuring that pay raise votes are held the same year legislators run for election.
• Create an internal Office of the Inspector General.
o The purpose would be to keep County government on task, audit spending and insure adherence to procedures and protocols through subpoena powers.

“This year, our caucus is thinking outside of the box,” said Oros. “These proposals reflect our commitment to a more open and efficient county government.”

For more details on the initiatives sponsored by the Republican Caucus, please contact Legislator George Oros or one of his staff members directly. Contact information can be found on the website.

(Minority Leader George Oros with Minority Whip Ursula LaMotte at the breakfast.)