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The abrupt retirement notice of current manager Steve Lynch leaves not just unanswered questions about why he is leaving, but how the county will carry on without him. He will depart less than a year after taking the job following a long career in local government, mostly as director of the Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Lynch was brought aboard to relieve the county Legislature chair from the burden of day-of-day operations so that office could spend more time concentrating on public policy. He filled that role after a five-year stretch of the position being unfunded following the firing of the county's previous administrator, J. Justin Woods, in 2019.

Cayuga County Legislature Chairwoman Aileen McNabb-Coleman said she could not comment on Lynch's departure, and Lynch did not respond to a request for comment, so we are left wondering whether or not the split was amicable. In any case, the Legislature needs to figure out how the job is going to get done in 2025 and beyond.

McNabb-Coleman, for one, wants the county to keep funding for an administrator in the 2025 budget.

"We are in the middle of a crisis," she said, referring to the county's budget woes and office building closure.

"If we have ever needed a county manager, it is now. There are a lot of moving parts and a lot of things to keep track of. We definitely need somebody to come in and direct the response to this crisis."

While we agree on the need for a county administrator, the unceremonious exits of the last two suggest it may be time to try a different approach to filling the position. Instead of continuing to have the Legislature appoint it, perhaps having the public elect an administrator could result in the kind of stability and continuity that's been lacking there.

In either case, it's critically important that the county find the right person for the job — and hopefully for much longer than a year or two.