POUGHKEEPSIE – The Dutchess County Legislature will file a lawsuit against County Executive William Steinhaus over the executive’s continued hiring freeze. That freeze won’t allow Legislature Chairman Roger Higgins to hire a fulltime assistant.  The legislature, along party lines, voted earlier this year to file the suit.

The Article 78 proceeding, filed in State Supreme Court on behalf of Fred Knapp as the aggrieved party, will challenge Steinhaus’ actions. Higgins called his actions “illegal, arbitrary and capricious.”

At the crux of the Legislature’s argument is that the county charter provides rights and privileges to the legislature as a separate branch of county government. Steinhaus’ actions “are an attempt to usurp the powers of the County Legislature and ignore the budget process,” said Higgins.

 “The County Legislature, under the charter, is created equally with the role of county executive,” he said. “We believe the county executive is usurping some of the legislature’s powers, specifically over budgetary matters and the ability to hire staff that has indeed been budgeted for.” Higgins said lawmakers have been patient, for three months, and they believe the issue needs to be resolved one way or another.

The Legislature majority is Democrat; Steinhaus is a Republican, leading some to say the executive’s action is politically motivated.

The legislative majority, along party lines, had earlier voted to file the suit.