Fight Local Law B-2026

MM/DD/YYY

Dear [Insert Supervisor’s Name]:

I am very disappointed that on February 11, 2026, you voted in favor of passing “Local Law No. B-2026 Authorizing the Lease or Sale of County Real Property Without Public Advertising Or Competitive Bidding.” The passage of the law removes transparency from the County Supervisors decision making process. This lack of transparency can lead to a perceived or real lack of due diligence on the part of the Supervisors when contracting to sell or lease public property in a manner that is in the best interest of the public. Excluding public input or commentary from the decision-making process regarding public property erodes trust in the County Supervisors.

How will the public know that the Board of Supervisors conducted “A Determination of Need” stating the reasoning used to conclude that a property “is no longer necessary for public use.”, as specified in New York State County Law? How will the public know each Supervisor’s opinion regarding the lease or sale of public property? In January, Paul Wolf, founder of the New York Coalition for Open Government, told the Livingston County News that the State requirements for public advertising and competitive bidding were, “designed to prevent potential corruption or favoritism. Public notice is important for the transparency and competitive bidding ensures that taxpayers get the best price for publicly owned land.” He is correct. Without competitive bidding, it is difficult to gauge the market value of a property, which could result in the loss of public revenue. Competitive bidding increases the likelihood that taxpayers will receive the best possible price for a piece of public property.

County Executive Shannon Hillier is quoted in the February 13, 2026 edition of the Livingston County News as saying, “It will still be public, it’s just a different process.” The law is titled “LOCAL LAW NO. B-2026 AUTHORIZING THE LEASE OR SALE OF COUNTY REAL PROPERTY WITHOUT PUBLIC ADVERTISING OR COMPETITIVE BIDDING”. How can we believe that the process will be public when the name of the law explicitly states otherwise? This lack of transparency on the part of the Board of County Supervisors, whether real or perceived, causes the public to lose trust in the Board of Supervisors’ ability to act in the best interests of the people.

Without any notice or advertisement, how will the public know that the Supervisors exhausted all possible public uses and benefits of the property? How will we know if the lease or sale will restrict or prohibit public access to areas previously available for recreation, such as hunting or fishing? How will we know that due diligence will be performed to ensure that there are no potential zoning and/or environmental issues regarding the proposed use of the property by the new tenant or owner?

Each Supervisor is elected to represent the residents of their town or village in the local legislative process. When notice of the proposed lease or sale of public property is not public, and the public is not given sufficient opportunity to comment on such a lease or sale, they are excluded from the decision making process. Democracy is a process and that process should be transparent. Local Law No.B-2026 purposefully excludes the public from the democratic process and leaves the residents of Livingston County to wonder if the County Board of Supervisors can be trusted to act in the best interest of all county residents.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]