NORWICH – In a rare move, Chenango County Board of Supervisors Chairman Richard B. Decker, R-N. Norwich, called for a motion before the full board on Monday that would expedite the creation of an ethics commission.

The county’s ethics law is dated 1990, and in order to update it, Safety & Rules Committee Chairman Janice O’Shea was poised to take up the matter at a meeting this month.

While the county is currently being audited by the New York State Comptroller’s Office due to an “ethics oversight,” Decker has repeatedly said it did not concern any issue before the board and was “routine.”

However, Decker’s suggested list came following a nearly 40-minute executive session prompted by a request from Natural Gas Committee Chairman Peter C. Flanagan to discuss “offers on county land.” While the particulars of the discussion were kept private, Flanagan has informed members of his committee and the Ag, Buildings and Grounds Committee that Norse Energy Inc. would be making a compulsory integration or leasing offer for a pipeline easement on county-owned land at Preston Manor. The gas committee has proposed changing a current county law that, they say, prohibits taxpayers from taking advantage of a source of income.