Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo in amending her plan for a county ethics office. Last month Dinolfo introduced legislation to establish an office of public integrity to examine county operations and review government functions. It would have the authority to report to law enforcement.
Critics say the office is too closely tied to government, and lacks the ability to be independent. The legislation specifies that the director will be appointed by the County Executive, after approval from the County Legislators.
Dinolfo says after revealing her initial plan, she wanted to include some feedback that she got from her colleagues and constituents.
"My intention has always been to incorporate feedback into the final product. It is in the spirit of collaboration that we are here today to announce an amendment to strengthen my legislation creating the office of public integrity."
Dinolfo says her amendment clarifies some details not explicitly written out in the original legislation.
The director will be forbidden to take part in political activity, will serve five year terms and can be terminated for cause only.
The Office of Public Integrity, as per the amendment, will have the authority to issue subpoenas to venders that work with the county, including LDCs, and all county employees will be required to cooperate with the office as a condition of their employment.
The leader of the Democratic Minority on the Monroe County legislature is pleased with the changes Dinolfo is talking about to her original proposal.
Cindy Kaleh says the new amendment helps make the head of this office be more independent.
"We were trying to make the new director be a more non-partisan position and I think that she strengthened that in that the director will be subject to a term of five years versus serving at the pleasure of the county executive, that is kind of a big thing," Kaleh told WXXI News.
Kaleh says Dinolfo has shown a willingness to make changes in her proposal after getting feedback.
"Clearly she heard concerns in the Agenda Charter meeting and the concerns of the Democratic caucus as well as probably some on the majority side, and she listened to them and acted on them in a fairly rapid manner. That to me shows that there's a much more open door there than there has been in the past.”
Kaleh says the Democratic Caucus still needs to discuss the proposal before it's voted on, but she does feel positively about it.
