Mamaroneck REVIEW THE
October 12, 2018 | Vol. 6, Number 42 | www.mamaroneckreview.com
Mamaroneck fires village manager By JAMES PERO Staff Writer
PLAYOFF PUSH Brigid Knowles
streaks past a Scarsdale defender during an Oct. 3 matchup. The Tigers topped the Raiders 3-0 and seem to be rounding into form as the postseason looms. For story, see page 15. Photo/Mike Smith
Westchester County passes paid sick time law By JAMES PERO Staff Writer Westchester lawmakers voted to pass a sick leave law that will afford county workers mandatory sick time on an hourly basis. According to the new law, public and private sector workers will earn one hour of sick time for every 30 hours a week, with a limit
INSIDE What to do this fall Page 6.
of 40 hours total. The law will encompass businesses with five or more employees and will allow workers to use accrued sick time for scenarios outside of illnesses including personal events like doctors’ appointments or to take care of ill family members. “By passing this legislation we say loudly and proudly to workers everywhere in Westchester County: your health, your well-being, matters,” said county Legislator Catherine Borgia, a Peekskill Democrat. “The protections we’re enshrining into law today are good for public health, good for business, and essential to worker safety and dignity.” The measure passed 12-5 with the entire Republican caucus vot-
ing against the bill; Kitley Covill, a Bedford Democrat, also voted down the law. Advocates of the measure say by forcing workers to attend work while sick, it may decrease productivity through increasing the likelihood that illnesses are spread. According to a report from 2016 from the Institute of Women’s Policy Research, about 36 percent of county workers lack paid sick time, with many of them earning low wages and only working part-time—a subset of employees that may not have designated time off. Among those workers, 54 percent are of total service workers and 52 percent of total construction workers, respectively.
Detractors of paid sick time laws claim that requiring businesses to pay employees for time off would incur significant costs on their part, plus workers may take sick days off when they’re not actually sick. There is currently no statewide law mandating employers to provide workers paid sick leave though nearly a dozen other states across the country have passed laws to do so, including Connecticut and New Jersey; New Jersey’s law will go into effect this fall. The bill passed by the Westchester Legislature will affect more than 120,000 workers across the county. CONTACT: james@hometwn.com
Rob Yamuder, the village manager of Mamaroneck abruptly left his post last week in what appears to be a forced exit, the Review has learned. According to Mayor Tom Murphy, a Democrat, the village and Yamuder “mutually parted ways.” When asked to elaborate on whether the village manager left or was fired, Murphy said simply “read between the lines.” Neither village officials nor Board of Trustees members were able to offer any details on Yamuder’s termination. Meanwhile, Assistant Village Manager Dan Sarnoff will be acting as interim village manager while the search for a new chief of village operations continues. In a special meeting on Oct. 4, Board of Trustees members voted to hire a firm to assist them in a search and interview process for a new manager. Sarnoff also declined to comment on the nature of Yamuder’s exit. Yamuder, who previously
worked in the village of Pelham as an administrator and treasurer, was hired by Mamaroneck in April 2017 to take over the post as village manager due to the departure of then Village Manager Richard Slingerland who left that job to work as a village administrator for the village of Tarrytown. In a 2017 interview with the Review upon taking his new position as village manager, Yamuder said that his priorities would be code enforcement, safety and efficiency. Under Yamuder’s helm as manager the village has continued to undergo a holistic analysis of many of its zoning and development policies that include a revamp of its comprehensive plan, a reconfiguration of its Building Department and a moratorium on residential development that will last until March. Yamuder was earning an annual salary of $185,000. Democratic trustees Keith Waitt, Nora Lucas and Leon Potok could not be reached for comment as of press time. -Reporting by James Pero
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