Onondaga County voters have less than two months to decide if they want the executive and comptroller positions to serve a maximum of three terms, four terms, or have no term limit at all.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon on Tuesday signed a bill that places the term-limit proposals on the November ballot.
"It provides the voters a choice. This is a process that came from a judicial compromise but is the exact same plan that I offered before lawyers were hired back in July," McMahon said in addressing those gathered at his office for the public-comment session.
He signed the bill after a public hearing in which one person spoke. Richie Sposato of Solvay was concerned that voters may not be aware that they do have the option to vote for no term limits at all.
"And the average person probably doesn't understand that," Sposato said. "They just think they're voting for three [term limit] or four [term limit], which ... I just hope that we can get some communication that they do have the option to vote 'em both down."
One proposal calls for a three-term limit, or a total of 12 years in office, and the other calls for a four-term limit or 16 years in office. Whichever proposal gets more votes would become Onondaga County law.
"Or they can vote against term limits overall and vote against both of these," McMahon added.
McMahon had signed a compromise local law after a legal dispute sparked by an accidental signature. At the time, he had intended to veto a 12-year term limit that the Onondaga County Legislature had approved, but he mistakenly signed the approval paperwork first.
This year's general election is set for Tuesday, Nov. 3.
