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Transparency – Or Lack Thereof – In Rockland County Government
Dear Editor,
At the Tuesday, April 14, 2026 meeting of the Rockland County Legislature, I was first in line to air a specific set of grievances in relation to the transparency – or lack thereof – in the Rockland County Legislature. Seven surrounding counties post and archive live streams of their county legislative meetings, but Rockland County does neither. Specifically addressed during public commentary were 3 transparency concerns that did not seem to faze a single member of the Rockland County Legislature.
First, how the heck can we know what is going on in our local government? At the beginning of every legislature meeting, there is a motion to adopt the minutes of the prior meeting. This is unanimously agreed upon. So, I asked, “Why?” and, “How?” could meeting minutes be voted on if they haven’t been transcribed, yet? What are you voting on? The last posted meeting minutes on the Rockland County Legislature webpage is from March 4, 2026, 42 days ago, which means multiple meetings are not available to the public. What I have noticed, though, is that these minutes are passed into the public record, filled with grammatical errors – sometimes obstructing the meaning of the sentence! Who checks these? Certainly not the legislators who unanimously agree to post them into public record.
Second, at the top of the Legislative Agenda and Minutes page is the following statement, “Full legislative sessions are held on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. but are subject to change.” In the last year, there have been 25 county legislative meetings, and only 7 of them fall on the first and third Tuesday of the month, with only one meeting designated as a special session. Statistically speaking, only 28% of the County Legislator meetings fall on a first or third Tuesday – which affects if the public can attend, participate or weigh in.
Third, last week, much to the chagrin of a majority of its constituents, legislators insisted that the provisions in the Home Improvement Contractors bill are the same legislation as exists in Westchester. (Newsflash, it is not.) As I had addressed in my list of concerns after comparing the proposed bill with the old, I was rebuffed. Rockland County removed any criminal penalties for violating the terms of this legislation. Legislator Yeger brushed it off as the business of the District Attorney. Westchester deems violators, “shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor,” which is potentially punishable by jail time! Westchester has a whole provision about leafblowers, and we have none! If one were to compare the two legislations, (you can’t, by the way, because the Rockland Legislature has taken ours down) one would immediately notice there is no monetary floor for home improvement contract violations in Westchester’s legislation, yet Rockland has given a pass to rogues who keep their thievery under $500.
Mary Elizabeth Modica
