Updated: Rosenblum Looks to End Term Limits for Boards and Commissions

New York State Law allows villages to appoint alternate members to its Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals in case a member can't participate in a specific matter because of a conflict of interest.

Village of Mamaroneck Mayor Rosenblum said he would like to appoint such alternates because doing so would help avoid unnecessary delays, and take the matter one step further: "I would like to see no term limits on [volunteer] boards and commissions," he said at Monday's work session.

Rosenblum added that the Planning Board and the ZBA can have a direct effect on the future of the village, and therefore people with expertise on these boards should be kept for as long as possible.

At the mayor's request, Village Manager Rich Slingerland is conducting a study of communities in New York to see which impose term limits. So far, he has received responses from 34 communities, out of which 22 are villages, and the rest are towns and cities.

The results are as follows:

Out of 34 communities, only 5 have term limits, including the Village of Mamaroneck. (Having term limits does not mean that a term does not expire, but that there is no limit to the number of terms an individual is appointed to). Some nearby communities with no term limits are Town of Mamaroneck, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Pelham, Pelham Manor, Port Chester and Rye Brook.

The communities with term limits are Village of Mamaroneck, Batavia, Canandaigua, Hastings on Hudson and Scarsdale.

Of the communities listed above, 50 percent have alternates.

To see the full list, refer to our photo section.

Clark Neuringer, who has served on a number of land use boards in the village and is currently a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals, thinks the village must look back before deciding to move forward with this change.

"At the time that term limits were instituted in the Village of Mamaroneck there were a series of discussions, public hearings and findings that said it was to the benefit of the village to have term limits," he said. "What has changed in the village since that time to nullify those prior findings and circumstances?" (According to the Village Code, term limits became effective on April 1, 1984. More information on this change will be provided as it becomes available.)

Neuringer added that the current system allows someone on the Planning Board or ZBA to serve for 21 years out of 20 (serving two consecutive five-year terms, being off for one year, and serving two additional five-year terms). If the argument is made that it is to the village's advantage to remove term limits for continuity sake, "someone would have to make a pretty strong argument that that's not enough time."

Slingerland confirmed that the process that would allow a Planning Board or ZBA member to serve for 20 years with a one-year hiatus "has been in practice for quite some time now," but is not stated in the code or the minutes from when term limits where adopted. 

Trustee Toni Ryan said she would not be as reluctant to see alternates as she would be with term limits. "Change" and "other eyes looking at things" are good for the village, and members whose terms have expired would only have to wait one year until they could serve again, she said.

In an e-mail, Planning Board Chairman Bob Galvin said two Planning Board members were strongly against the term limits idea, and two did not feel strongly about either option ("continuity and institutional memory" versus "periodic new blood"). One of the latter "felt that the BOT has had difficulty in filling positions on boards and term limits may create artificial barriers to getting these positions filled with competent individuals," said Galvin.

A public hearing for both matters is likely to be scheduled at the regular board meeting on July 19. Check back for updates.