Ethics complaints filed against a former mayor and his successor related to a city contract with Sustainable Westchester, a not-for-profit aggregator of renewable energy for municipalities across the county.

By David McKay Wilson | Westchester Journal 

Two years ago, the city of New Rochelle embarked on a nationwide search for its next city manager, only to hire its deputy city manager, Kathleen Gill, who had worked in the city administration in various posts for more than 25 years. Two years later, Gill has resigned.

Her departure comes just months after she’d acted on issues involving ethics complaints filed against the city’s former mayor, Noam Bramson, and his successor, Yadira Ramos-Herbert.

The complaints were related to the city’s relationship with Sustainable Westchester, the community choice aggregator of renewable electrical supply in the county.  

Now the city is preparing to launch another nationwide search as New Rochelle residents look to their elected officials for explanations for Gill’s abrupt resignation, and for a yet-to-be disclosed separation agreement with the longtime city employee.

City Councilman Al Tarantino said Gill’s two-year contract would expire at the end of 2024, so there was almost nine months left on the accord. SeeThroughNY states that Gill’s salary for 2023 was $239,663.

He said Gill’s resignation was forced.

“Normally, you’d give someone in a position like this six months notice, so they could have an opportunity to look for a new job,” said Tarantino, the lone Republican on the seven-person board.

“But this was a personal issue. It was a forced resignation, and it was obvious there were people who were willing to fire her. At least they backed off. That would have been a very negative thing.”

Joseph Farca, who lost his bid for City Council in November, said that he and several other speakers at the City Council meeting on April 9 questioned whether Gill’s pressured resignation came in retaliation for her actions to enforce the city of New Rochelle’s Code of Ethics.

“I and others asked for an investigation into whether Gill was fired because she called into question both the previous and current mayors’ involvement in voting to approve city contracts with Sustainable Westchester, while both simultaneously served on Sustainable Westchester’s board of directors,” said Farca.

Ramos-Herbert said Friday that Gill’s enforcement of the city Code of Ethics was not involved in Gill’s resign[ation].

“She resigned,” Ramos-Herbert said. “That’s what ultimately happened.”

In a press release issued Wednesday, Ramos-Herbert thanked Gill for her 27 years of service to the city.

“We thank Kathleen for her service to the City of New Rochelle and wish her the best in her future endeavors,” she wrote.

“As we begin the search for her successor, the City of New Rochelle remains committed to a comprehensive and transparent search process to identify the next city manager.”

Tax Watch filed a Freedom of Information Law request on Thursday with the city to obtain the separation agreement.

Gill’s time in New Rochelle

On the city’s website, there’s still a welcome note from Gill, and a link to her ambitious “workplan” for 2024.

The plan outlined the city’s comprehensive programs for youth, improvements for the city’s infrastructure, plans to expand the city’s stock of affordable housing, and the city’s community engagement efforts through public events to bring together New Rochelle’s neighborhoods.

Gill held a number of posts in the city government during her 27-year tenure, which began in 1995. She worked her way up the ladder in the corporation counsel’s office, and later held the positions of chief of staff and deputy city manager. She did serve a stint as Iona College’s general counsel from 2013 to 2105 before returning to the city to serve as corporation counsel.

Her brief 17-month tenure as city manager came after the retirement of Chuck Strome, the legendary city manager who served in that post for 20 years before his retirement in 2022.

Strome announced his retirement in March of 2022, and Gill was selected in late November of that year, as the national search began, and ended, at City Hall.

Sustainable Westchester and ethics issues

The Sustainable Westchester issues exploded in the public sphere after Robert Cox, an independent New Rochelle journalist who runs the Talk of the Sound website, raised questions about the ties between Councilwoman Sara Kaye and then-Mayor Noam Bramson with Sustainable Westchester.

The nonprofit organization, formed by 44 of Westchester’s 45 municipalities, serves as an aggregator of electricity supply, and has won the support of 29 Westchester municipalities to make it the default supplier of electricity for 145,000 Westchester households.

Both Kaye and Bramson served on the board of Sustainable Westchester and later voted on the city’s energy contract in 2022, without disclosing their volunteer positions with the nonprofit.

The city’s Board of Ethics referred its findings to Gill, who nullified the contract.

Bramson, who did not stand for re-election in November, became Sustainable Westchester’s executive director in January.

When the contract came up for a new vote in February, Kaye recused herself from the vote. But Ramos-Herbert voted in favor of the contract, just three days after she attended the 2024 Sustainable Westchester annual meeting as a voting member.

Cox filed another ethics complaint in early March, which Gill took seriously.

“Now there’s a new question,” said Gill at the time. “If she was required to disclose and recuse herself from the vote, then that contract will also be null and void.”

The Ethics Board has yet to rule on the complaint. And it will be up to Gill’s successor to deal with the fallout if it finds Ramos-Herbert had a conflict.

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David McKay Wilson writes about tax issues and government accountability. Follow him on Twitter @davidmckay415 or email him at dwilson3@lohud.com.