The search for a new village manager and attorney was decided in tandem this week, with the village of Mamaroneck Board of Trustees hiring attorney Robert Spolzino and manager Robert Yamuder.
Yamuder, who is slated to fill a gap created by the resignation of Richard Slingerland, will bring previous experience as an administrator and treasurer in the village of Pelham as well as a background in engineering to the job.
For Spolzino, the appointment will mark a return to a village attorney position, reprising a role he filled previously for Mount Kisco from 1987 to 1995. In addition to his tenure as a municipal attorney and a career in private practice, Spolzino also acted as an appellate judge for New York state from 2004 to 2009.
According to Trustee Leon Potok, a Democrat, Yamuder will be earning $185,000 per year, while Spolzino will be earning $6,000 per month. Both employees’ contracts are substantially similar to those of their predecessors. The village attorney serves on a part-time basis.
Trustee Victor Tafur, a Democrat, characterized replacing current Village Attorney Charles Goldberger—who has held the post since 2012—not as an indictment on Goldberger’s performance, but more of a pivot toward an equitable approach to the position’s appointment.
“The entire board is engaged in overseeing policies and how the village is moving forward,” he said. “So it does make sense for [the appointment] to be a consensus of the board.”
Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, criticized board Democrats, claiming the process of appointing a new attorney was lacking transparency.
“It’s not necessarily a matter of what you do in the village, it’s how you do it,” he said, adding that the decision to negotiate over Spolzino’s appointment in a special meeting was opaque.
Rosenblum—who abstained on the vote for village attorney—has been a consistent critic of that search, advocating for the retention of Goldberger.
Potok rebuffed the mayor’s characterization of the board operating in secrecy.
“Any board member could call a special meeting,” Potok said. “There’s no lack of transparency in what was done.”
Contract negotiations on new personnel in the village are held in executive session—meetings that are not open to the public—due to the private nature of the information discussed, including health benefits.
The decision to hire Spolzino follows the success of a villagewide referendum in November that shifted the powers of the mayor to solely appoint the village attorney to a majority vote by the Board of Trustees.
While Rosenblum categorized the move as a power grab, board Democrats have claimed the alteration was a shift toward a more equitable process of appointment.
Both of the new village staffers are set to start their positions in May. While Goldberger will remain active for the transition period to help Spolzino get acclimated, Trustee Keith Waitt, a Democrat, said current village staff will fill in gaps for Slingerland, who is set to begin a new job in the village of Tarrytown on April 1.
