Sleepy Hollow trustees debate ordinance to codify village administrator role

The Village of Sleepy Hollow Board of Trustees discussed a draft 2025 ordinance to add the village administrator position to the village code, focusing on how the administrator's duties and authorities should be described.

During the discussion the Village President presented the draft ordinance and described changes made after feedback from a prior meeting. Trustees raised questions about a provision that said the administrator "in consultation with the Village President" would create the agenda for all board meetings. Several trustees said the draft, as written, could be read to give the administrator unilateral control over meeting agendas and asked for clearer language that preserves the Village President's final approval.

One trustee said the board should require "consultation with and the consent of the Village President" for final agenda-setting, arguing that language would make the president's ultimate authority explicit. Board members also asked whether the administrator would routinely attend executive sessions; the president and trustees agreed the administrator generally would attend except for sessions specifically addressing that person's conduct or performance, when the board retains the right to exclude them.

Trustees pressed for clarity on the administrator's hiring authority. The draft indicates the administrator would coordinate department staffing and could approve hires within departmental budgets. Trustees discussed retaining board oversight for hires that implicate budget changes or outside budgeted positions; the consensus was that routine hires covered by existing departmental budgets could be handled through the administrator with departmental recommendation, while budget-impacting appointments should come to the board.

Members also asked why the ordinance included a clause describing the administrator performing finance-director duties "to perform the duties of Finance director" and whether that language was intended as a replacement for the current director. The Village President said the drafting was intended to provide continuity if the finance director (Eugene) were to depart, not to remove the current director.

The board asked the village attorney to incorporate revisions discussed at the meeting and to circulate a redlined copy reflecting the preferred wording — including explicit language that agenda creation is "in consultation with and with the consent of the Village President" — before the next meeting.

The board did not vote on the ordinance at this meeting; trustees directed the attorney to finish the edits and provide a copy of the revised draft for review.