An out-of-house city attorney may be here to stay. At Monday’s Common Council meeting City Manager Matt Alexander proposed formally appointing an outside firm as the corporation counsel for the remainder of this year and 2025.

The proposal comes just a week after the dismissal of former acting corporation counsel Michael Hartman who was replaced with the White Plains based law firm Keane & Beane for the rest of 2024.

Alexander said he put extra money in the corporation counsel budget line for a paralegal currently in the department to take on additional responsibilities. He added that she is already doing a lot of extra hours, going from 29 hours to 35 in a week.

“In the past, two corporation counsels ago, we had a corporation counsel that was very good at and did lots of reviews of the resolutions,” Alexander said. “I’d like to move lots of that function to the paralegal, but have it reviewed and form all the resolutions for every meeting by the appointed outside corporation counsel.”

Alexander said he would like for that paralegal to be the gatekeeper for how staff uses the outside corporation counsel. She would also be tasked with seeing what city staff needs are being worked on and report back to Alexander on how requests are doing.

He added that he would like to keep the corporation counsel salary line in that office, but redefine the role to be a lawyer who would communicate with the outside corporation counsel and be Assistant City Manager. This, he said, would be a good thing for the city in terms of sustainability and having someone ready to step up in case something happens.

“I could definitely use the same kinds of legal help that we were getting from past corporation counsel,” Alexander said. “This would be a person who would have a legal mind and be able to watch out for the high level strategy of how we should set things up. And be able to learn about the functioning of the city and what to do and also be able to watch out for the city when I can’t be there.”

Councilman Dwight Douglas said he thought Alexander’s proposal of having an Assistant City Manager to support the department was needed and a good idea. Councilman Ramon Fernandez said he would like to see more of the specific numbers on outside legal representation spending if they were going to move forward in that direction. In response, Alexander said he believed they had enough to cover it in the budget as it is, but would thoroughly break down the numbers for several individual cases later.

Councilman Brian Fassett said the plan made sense and thanked Alexander for figuring out where the city is weak and where it can strengthen to be stronger.

“We’re always looking for ways of doing it better and I think you’re on the right track,” Fassett said. “And I think there will be some growing pains here that we’ll have to get through, but I think the budget is solid. We can certainly get through what we need to and backing up you and your department with another legal strategy, as well as assisting you on a daily basis, I think can only put the city in a better light.”

2025 budgets for Mayor, Common Council, and Department of Public Works

In the proposed 2025 budget, the Mayor and Common Council members will receive two percent increases across the board. The current salary for the mayor is $19,339 and council members receive $12,906. The line item for the council is $78,985, is a two percent increase over 2024, according to City Manager Matt Alexander at Monday’s Common Council meeting.

Alexander also requested a two percent increase in the City Manager’s budget. He said that when people first start out as office assistants throughout the city they get step raises, so he included a larger raise for confidential secretary Stephanie Romero. He also put in a stipend of $2,700 as remuneration for her ability to speak Spanish and other work she has provided outside of the office. The City Manager office’s 2025 budget is close to $320,000 (about $7,000 more than in 2024); most of the increase there are in payroll and Social Security, he said.

Director of Public Works (DPW) Chris Gross presented a nearly $8 million budget for 2025, covering the highway department, sanitation, parks maintenance, vehicle maintenance, and building maintenance. Gross said that there are 49 staff members in the DPW, and to be fully staffed properly they would need 65 in total. He said they are hoping to get some part timers next year.

He also highlighted flooding and storm sewer issues in the city, breaking down 6 delineated drainage basins in Peekskill. According to his presentation, the maintenance and improvement of the city’s stormwater sewer system is currently an unfunded and unbudgeted effort.

However three basins were proposed to be studied through Resilient Investments through Support and Capital (RISC) funding including McGregory Brook, Peekskill Hollow Creek Basin, and Riverfront Park. For each basin, the city will receive $200,000 for engineering studies and conceptual design for a total of $600,000.

“It does not include construction and does not include final bid documents,” Gross said. “But what these studies will do will give us a direction in what we can do to solve these drainage issues.”

Discussion of how to replace paramedic service discontinued by NY Presbyterian

In 2022, New York Presbyterian Hospital Hudson Valley told the Town of Cortlandt that the hospital would no longer be providing paramedic services to the joint Town of Cortlandt and City of Peekskill Advanced Life Support Services (CPAL).  During the agreement with the two municipalities,  the hospital had been the employer of the paramedics who staffed the joint CPA. This benefited both municipalities because NYP subsidized the majority of the cost. 

Now, in the absence of New York Presbyterian providing paramedic services to Peekskill and Cortlandt through CPAC, the city will be introducing a resolution next week that would authorize the city manager to engage in an emergency services agreement with the Town of Cortlandt.

City Manager Matt Alexander said what four years ago would have been $200,000 contribution is now $630,000 with a new entity in 2025.

That entity, Cortlandt-Peekskill Regional Paramedic Service, would provide Advanced Life Support (ALS) services to the town of Cortlandt  and Peekskill. Alexander also said he learned New York Presbyterian agreed to continue to support the narcotic side of the equation. Alexander did not provide estimates for what that cost is. 

Nutrition program would cover cost of food and some labor

Also during the meeting, Community Hub Director Johnathan Zamora presented information about Child and Adult Care Food, a benefit program. The federally funded food program for the USDA would provide nutritious meals and snacks free of charge for children during after- school activities. The program, set at $78,150, is a food based reimbursement program and 15 percent of the funds can be used to offset labor.

Other business at the council meeting included the talk of prohibiting ATVs and motorized bikes on public lands, restricting loitering in parking garages, and prohibiting turning right on red.