Rockland County Lawmakers Fill Leadership Posts

From the Rockland County Legislature

The Rockland County Legislature filled its leadership posts Tuesday night, electing Alden H. Wolfe as Chairman and Aney Paul as Vice Chairwoman. Democrats elected Jay Hood as Majority Leader and Republicans elected Lon Hofstein as Minority Leader. Phil Soskin was appointed Deputy Majority Leader and Vince Tyer was appointed Deputy Minority Leader.

“Even in the midst of the worst pandemic in decades, County government has earnestly continued to serve Rockland County’s residents and businesses,” Chairman Wolfe said. “From health services to social services to public safety to public transportation and in so many other ways, Rockland County government works to be a positive force in the lives of the people. I am proud to contribute to the efforts and look forward to another term as Chairman of the Rockland County Legislature.”

As of Tuesday, 780 Rockland residents have died due to the pandemic and Chairman Wolfe acknowledged those losses, and well as those struggling to survive daily life during these difficult days.

“I also give tremendous credit to our County workforce, who’ve kept the wheels turning during the pandemic,” Chairman Wolfe said. “Many of our departments were inundated over the course of the year but faced the challenges with limited resources. Much of what we do at the Legislature has to happen in public, and our own staff had to figure out how to operate in the ‘new normal.’”

During a virtual meeting, Legislators voted 16-0 to elect Legislator Wolfe as Chairman for a fifth time. He first served as chair in 2014, 2015 and 2016 and was elected to a fourth term in 2020. He was sworn in by state Supreme Court Justice Robert Berliner. County Clerk Donna Silberman oversaw the signing into the elected officials’ registry.

Legislators voted 16-0 to elect Legislator Paul as Vice Chairwoman for a second time. She was first elected in 2020 and previously served as Majority Leader. She was sworn in by former state Supreme Court Justice and current Rockland County District Attorney, Thomas Walsh.

“Despite the many hurdles we faced last year, the Legislature carried out its work in accordance with the County Charter, open meetings laws and in devotion to the public we are committed to serving,” Legislator Paul said. “I look forward to continuing this service in 2021 and thank all Rockland residents and businesses for their sacrifices as we continue to fight the virus.”

Democrats voted 9-0 to elect Legislator Jay Hood as Majority Leader. He appointed Legislator Phil Soskin as Deputy Majority Leader. Republicans voted 7-0 to elect Legislator Lon Hofstein as Minority leader. He appointed Legislator Vince Tyer as Deputy Minority Leader. Legislator Charles Falciglia, an independent, was absent from the virtual meeting.

Laurence O. Toole, the Clerk to the Legislature, was unanimously reappointed to a one-year term. He named Mary Widmer as Deputy Clerk to the Legislature.

As the number of COVID-19 cases began rapidly increasing in mid-March, the Legislature quickly pivoted in response. From March 18 through Dec. 28, 51 meetings were held virtually over the course of 28 nights, each meeting, including committee sessions, publicly livestreamed in compliance with Gov. Cuomo’s orders concerning restrictions public meetings.

The Legislature addressed 553 resolutions in 2020, slightly fewer than its five-year average of about 590, despite the shift to virtual meetings.

Some of the highlights:

• Unanimous Adoption of the 2021 Adopted County Budget lowering the property tax increase for 2021 to just $12 – despite the tremendous impacts of the pandemic on the economy.
• Unanimous Restoration of Funding for Two Non-Profits after they were cut by the county executive, one that raises awareness about African American culture and the other that aids in the management of feral cats.
• Unanimous Adoption of the Best Value Law allowing County government to consider non-price factors such as reliability of a product and expected lifespan when making purchases or signing contracts for certain services. Besides saving taxpayer, the new law could also help boost the participation of small businesses, minority and women-owned businesses and nonprofits.
• Unanimous Adoption of the Diversity & Inclusion Law to raise awareness of the diversity gaps that exist on the County’s 26 Boards and Commissions and to provide those who serve on them with diversity training. For the Boards to function at their best, it is important that the voices, knowledge and insight of women and people from communities of color be at the table.
• Unanimous Adoption of a law to give the Sheriff the authority to manage parking on county roads, enhancing his ability to react to public hazards.
• Designated June 19 as an annual Juneteenth celebration in Rockland County to commemorate the end of slavery in the United States.

There was a significant amount of COVID-19 related business, starting in March when Chairman Wolfe co-signed an emergency procurement declaration that allowed County government to access $100,000 from a contingency account in the Office of Fire and Emergency Services and to use it for the immediate purchase of face masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, cleaning products and other personal protective equipment (PPE).

Chairman Wolfe, and other legislators, made multiple public requests of residents and businesses to stay at home during the lockdown and continue to urge people to follow all CDC and local Health Department requests, including the wearing of face masks, social distancing, handwashing and gathering only with immediate family members as distribution of the vaccines begins.