Local government elections in New York state are several months away, but the membership of the Oswego County Legislature is already changing.
At least six of the 25 members of the Oswego County Legislature have announced that they are not running for re-election. The reasons for their departures are seemingly unrelated. Two legislators are leaving to run for another office, three are choosing to retire, and one is leaving to focus on family and business.
Fulton Legislator Frank Castiglia, who is stepping down to fulfill his campaign promise of term limits, says the major changes come as the county is in the middle of tax negotiations with Exelon, owner of the two nuclear plants in Oswego County.
"Those are big issues because there's a lot of money that's involved there," Castiglia said. "Mexico school district weighs heavy on the revenues from those pilot agreements, Scriba does also, and Oswego County is right behind it."
Castiglia says incoming legislators will also need to grapple with what the county can do to in case those plants close, urging them to rein in expenditures. The Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant in Scriba almost shuttered its doors in 2015 due to falling revenues. New York state later stepped in to support the plants with increased fees on ratepayers' utility bills.
This the second major shakeup in the Oswego County legislature in recent years. The county chairman position has changed hands twice in the past two years.
Correction: An earlier version of this story referred to Oswego County Legislator Frank Castiglia as 'Dan Castiglia.' We apologize for the error.
