My friends and neighbors,
On Monday, the Dutchess County Legislature is scheduled to vote on a proposal that would eliminate the long-standing two-thirds requirement for accessing the County’s reserve and contingency funds.
This may sound technical. It is not.
For years, accessing reserve funds required a supermajority — broad bipartisan agreement — before taxpayer savings could be spent. That safeguard ensured that major financial decisions reflected consensus, not just a narrow majority. It forced debate. It required persuasion. It demanded transparency.
Most importantly, it protected you — the taxpayer.
Reserve funds are not routine operating dollars. They are the County’s financial safety net — intended for emergencies, economic downturns, and true contingencies. The higher voting threshold recognized that drawing from those reserves should never be easy or automatic.
Lowering the requirement to a simple majority fundamentally changes that standard.
It shifts power to whichever party holds the bare minimum number of votes at any given time. It removes the built-in incentive for negotiation and compromise. And while today’s majority may feel comfortable exercising that authority, the rules changed now will govern future Legislatures as well.
Precedent matters.
Once the bar is lowered, it is rarely raised again.
Government works best when guardrails are stable and insulated from political convenience. Institutional safeguards exist to ensure that taxpayer dollars are handled with broad agreement and careful deliberation — not simply because enough votes are available.
This vote is about more than procedure. It is about the architecture of accountability in Dutchess County government.
I encourage every resident — regardless of party affiliation — to call or email your County Legislator before Monday’s vote. Ask them to maintain the two-thirds requirement. Ask them to preserve the safeguard that has protected reserve funds for years.
Your voice matters.
When rules governing taxpayer money are rewritten, silence should not be assumed as consent.
Respectfully,
Ed Kowalski
The Valley Viewpoint
The Valley Viewpoint 