North Castle Considers Hiring Town Administrator

The following article appeared in The Journal News on March 23, 2009.

NORTH CASTLE - To address the increasing complexity of town government and the need for expertise in labor relations, state regulations and many other areas, the town is considering hiring an administrator to take over the day-to-day duties of the supervisor.

With an administrator in charge of overseeing the nuts and bolts of managing the town, the supervisor and Town Board would be freed up to spend more time on policy and long-term planning. The towns of New Castle and Mamaroneck have administrators, while villages and many cities have managers or administrators.

A task force has unanimously recommended the creation of the administrator position as soon as possible, arguing in a report to the Town Board that the complexity of financial and regulatory aspects of town governance require the expertise of an administrator. The difficulties created by the economic situation makes the change particularly timely, the task force said

The Town Board will discuss the idea in the coming months.

Supervisor Reese Berman proposed the creation of the task force in the middle of last year and said she thinks hiring an administrator is a good idea.

"One, it offers stability," she said. "Two, it removes some of the political pressures from the day to day running of the town."

Berman has also been impressed with the knowledge other towns' administrators have brought to regional policy meetings. And making the supervisor's job part time would allow working people to take on the job, she said.

Funding is a key issue, Berman said.

With major cuts in the town budget this year, leading to some layoffs, it is a difficult time to start new initiatives. The Town Board will have to decide whether to hire an administrator immediately or wait until the position can be funded in a future budget.

If the position is created, Berman has offered to decrease her salary, now $117,266, by about $70,000 to bring it in line with other towns that have an administrator. The deputy supervisor's salary may also decrease.

Administrators generally make between $115,000 and $185,000, according to the task force report. In New Castle the administrator makes $169,223 and the supervisor makes $32,865.

The administrator could potentially save the town money that would make up part of the salary by taking over parts of contracted duties, such as labor negotiations.

Administrators are different from town managers in that they don't have the power to hire and fire. That stays with the Town Board.

New Castle also has a deputy administrator but the task force doesn't recommend adding that position.

Armonk resident Kerry Lutz, a lawyer who has been critical of Berman and her ability to lead the town as revenues shrink, said he would support hiring an administrator if the person can be kept out of town politics. He would like someone in the job who has run a business and who can deal with labor contracts he thinks have grown out of control.

"Something's got to be done," he said. "We can't be going in a business-as-usual environment."

So now the truth comes out. The committee has stated what the rest of us have long known or suspected, Supervisor Berman has never been up to the task of running the town. The economic collapse has just made the situation all the more obvious.