With the merger of the Louisville, Kentucky city government with the surrounding Jefferson County two years before, and the establishment of a Buffalo-Erie County merger commission at about the same time, talk of a city-county consolidation for Syracuse –Onondaga County gained some momentum.  As a foundation for further discussion, OCL decided to study consolidation as it relates to the specific situation of Syracuse and Onondaga County.

OCL examined the issue of declining political participation with two major objectives:  to determine the causes of low voter turnout and the difficulty in recruiting candidates for political office; and to propose a series of recommendations to address those problems on both the state and local levels.  Recommendations have three objectives: to make registration and voting more convenient; to give voters more useful information on issues and candidates; and to level the playing field for candidates to political office.

In this study, OCL reviews the need for and the recent history of local efforts to contain costs through cooperation, coordination and consolidation.  The report offers several general recommendations for increasing the cost-effectiveness of public service operations and also offers specific recommendations regarding several service areas.

This study focuses on the Syracuse City Charter and the Onondaga County Charter.  OCL recommends changes for both charters and also suggests parts of the charters that should remain the same.  The report stated the following findings before outlining the recommendations:

1. A better charter is a tool for a better government.
2. When the language of a charter is archaic, and when a charter is written in minute detail, citizen participation interest and participation in government is discouraged.
3. The charter for a local government must accurately reflect the local conditions.
4. There are alternative approaches to revising a city charter.  Direct initiatives by voters and legislators are ways to do this.  It is much more difficult to revise a county charter.

This report centers on the delivery of police services in Onondaga County. For the purposes of this report, the OCL studied what services are provided and how they are carried out, and what is the current pattern and what should be attempted for the future. This study was broken down into six categories: (1) Who are the providers of police services? (2) What services do these agencies provide? (3) What do these services cost, and how are these costs allocated? (4) What services are now shared or coordinated between agencies? (5) How do citizens, elected officials and police chiefs evaluate police services, their organization and delivery? (6) What should be done to improve the delivery of police services in Onondaga County?

This study includes an analysis of the condition of the infrastructure at the national, state and local levels.  General conclusions were made, and specific recommendations concerning each part of the infrastructure (i.e. bridges, roads, sewers, and water systems) were made.

This report focuses on function, size and structure of the Onondaga County legislature.  OCL makes several recommendations based on its conclusions and findings, including reduction in the size of the legislature from 24 to 15 legislators.

In the state of New York, the courts ordered that all local assessing jurisdictions in the state, including cities, towns, and villages, must assess real estate property equitably at full market value. The purpose of this report is to help citizens of Onondaga County understand the nature of assessing real estate property at full market value, and to aid county legislators and officials in decision making regarding this issue.