Hits: 18

WPCNR COUNTY CLARION-LEDGER. From Chairman of the Board of Legislators, Benjamin Boykin. January 18, 2018:

Newly-elected Board of Legislators (BOL) Chairman Benjamin Boykin (D) White Plains, Scarsdale and West Harrison and BOL Vice-Chair Alfreda Williams (D) Elmsford, Greenburgh, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, have announced a redesigned committee structure for the 2018-19 legislative term.

The Westchester County Charter mandates that the BOL maintain two specific committees, the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Legislation Committee. Additional committees and their membership are determined at the Chairman’s prerogative.

Following consultation with all Legislators, Chairman Boykin has assigned committee chairmanships that ensure each of the 17 Legislators will chair a committee or serve in a BOL leadership position.

The BOL Leadership positions for the 2018-2019 term are:

Board of Legislators Chair – Ben Boykin

Board of Legislators Vice-Chair – Alfreda Williams

Majority Leader – Catherine Parker

Minority Leader – John Testa

Majority Whip – MaryJane Shimsky

Minority Whip – Gordon Burrows

The BOL Committees, meeting times and Chairs for the 2018-2019 term are:

Budget & Appropriations, Mondays at 10:00AM – Catherine Borgia

Legislation, Mondays at 1:00PM – Virginia Perez

Rules, as needed – Comprised of  BOL leadership

Law & Major Contracts, as needed – Lyndon Williams

Appointments, Mondays at 4:30PM – Christopher Johnson

Public Works, Tuesdays at 11:00AM – MaryJane Shimsky

Labor & Housing, Mondays at 2:00PM – Damon Maher

Social Services, 1st, 2nd, 4th Tuesdays of each month at 10:00AM – Kitley Covill

Environment, Health & Energy, Tuesdays at 1:00PM – Nancy Barr

Seniors & Constituents, 3rd Tuesday each month at 10:00AM – David Tubiolo

Parks, Planning & Economic Development, Mondays at 9:00AM- Mike Kaplowitz

Public Safety, Mondays at 3PM – Margaret Cunzio

Intergovernmental Services, Mondays at 12:00PM – Jim Maisano

All BOL Committee meetings are open to the public and are streamed live on the BOL website. An archive of previous meetings can be viewed on the BOL website as well.

Chairman Boykin said of the committee appointments, “Much of the important work of creating Legislation and performing oversight of County operations takes place around the committee table. I believe that in order for a legislative body to be robust and effective, all Legislators must be engaged and accountable. In determining the membership of each of these committees, my aim was to match the experience and skill sets of individual Legislators with the mission and objective of their committee assignments. The BOL will be taking on many critical pieces of Legislation quickly and I am confident that we have the right people and committees in place to fully and objectively review those proposals.”

Vice-Chair of the BOL Alfreda Williams said, “I congratulate my colleagues on their committee appointments and leadership positions. Over the next two years, every member of this Legislature has a tremendous opportunity to help restore the fiscal health of Westchester County and to help us return to social policies of inclusion and fairness for all of our residents.”