Mamaroneck trustees swear in new members, appoint village manager and approve $500,000 bond at organizational meeting

The Village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees held its annual organizational meeting Dec. 2, 2024, swearing in newly elected trustees, appointing a village manager and approving routine administrative designations and a $500,000 crime and fidelity bond.

During the opening of the meeting, the board administered the oath of office to incoming trustees. Ellen Silver recited her oath and was welcomed alongside fellow new trustees Jan Kuznick and Maria DeRose. A trustee who identified himself as Andrew also took the oath.

The board voted to appoint Kathleen Gill as village manager and authorized the mayor to execute a contract on behalf of the trustees; Gill is scheduled to begin on Monday, Dec. 9. The board also resolved that the prior village clerk/treasurer would not be reappointed and named Sally Roberts as acting village clerk and Laura Vasami as acting village treasurer pending permanent appointments.

Trustees reappointed or appointed several law and finance professionals: Robert Spolzino was reappointed village attorney; Mary Desmond was appointed deputy village attorney; the firm Tobin, Bernadin and Wazni LLP was reappointed as village prosecutor; and Jeffrey E. Storch of Harris Beach, PLLC was retained as bond counsel to handle bond issues and bond anticipation notes.

On financial administration, the board approved crime and fidelity bonds in the amount of $500,000 to cover village employees and designated JPMorgan Chase Bank and Webster Bank as depositories for village funds for the ensuing official year. The trustees also established authorized signature combinations for different village accounts, naming the mayor, the deputy mayor, the acting village treasurer and the acting village clerk in the specified roles.

The Board adopted or readopted written policies including a modified investment policy (to reflect acting officer titles) and a procurement and credit card policy, noting the procurement review requirement under section 103 of the New York General Municipal Law.

The board made numerous appointments and reappointments to municipal boards and commissions, including the board of appeals, planning board, architectural review board, traffic commission, budget committee, Committee for the Environment, TREE Committee, arts council and harbor and coastal zone management commission. The meeting also approved dissolving the 2007/2008 flood mitigation advisory committee and established a new flood safety committee charged with flood mitigation, intermunicipal coordination and resident education; the new committee will have seven members and the trustees said appointments would follow in December or January.

The trustees designated the Journal News as the village’s official newspaper for the coming year, confirmed the posted schedule of meetings, and invited residents to apply for volunteer openings on several committees, including the new flood safety committee and the ethics committee.

Votes at a glance: the board approved the deputy mayor appointment, the appointment of Kathleen Gill as village manager (start date Dec. 9), acting appointments for clerk and treasurer, reappointments and appointments of legal counsel and prosecutor firms, designation of bond counsel, approval of $500,000 crime and fidelity bonds, designation of JPMorgan Chase and Webster Bank as depositories, adoption of procurement and investment policies, the renaming of the Recreation and Parks Commission to the Parks and Recreation Commission, and multiple board and commission appointments. Most motions were approved by voice vote; where individual vote tallies were not recorded in the transcript the meeting record reflects motions were carried by the board’s voice votes.

The meeting closed after announcements seeking volunteers for open committee seats and a motion to adjourn was carried.