Redesigned Committee Structure and Chairs Named for Westchester BOL
Citing clarity as the main purpose for redesigning the Westchester County Board of Legislators (BOL) committee structure, newly elected BOL chairman Ben Boykin (D-White Plains) and vice-chair Alfreda Williams (D-Greenburgh) have assigned committee chairmanships 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.
“We wanted committees put together so when people look at the name, they understand what it means, Chairman Boykin told The White Plains Examiner in an interview Friday. “When you see Labor and Housing, you know what that means. It is clear. Public Safety is very clear. We wanted clarity so people in the county would understand the oversight responsibilities of each committee.”
Working together with Legislator Alfreda Williams, Boykin said they had a shared goal to enhance the status of the Board of Legislators through outreach and education.
“We want people to understand the role of county government and the role of their county legislator,” Boykin emphasized. To do this Boykin wants the legislators more actively out in the community. Part of that outreach will be at town hall meetings held in each legislative district with newly elected County Executive George Latimer.
“We want the people of Westchester County engaged, so we can move forward with our progressive policies. The first items we plan to deal with, and the discussion is happening as we speak,” Boykin said, “is to ban gun shows on county-owned property and to pass the immigrant protection act.” Both items had passed through a bi-partisan legislature in 2017, but had been vetoed at the county executive level.
After consulting with the 17 legislators on the BOL, Boykin and Williams ensured that each legislator had an assigned committee chairmanship or would serve in a BOL leadership position during the 218-2019 term.
“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,” Boykin said of the assignments.
Vice-Chair 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.”
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 and Appropriations: Mondays at 10 a.m., Catherine Borgia.
Legislation: Mondays at 1 p.m., Virginia Perez.
Rules: as needed, comprised of BOL leadership.
Law and Major Contracts: as needed, Lyndon Williams.
Appointments: Mondays at 4:30 p.m., Christopher Johnson.
Public Works: Tuesdays at 11 a.m., MaryJane Shimsky.
Labor and Housing: Mondays at 2 p.m., Damon Maher.
Social Services: 1st, 2nd, 4th Tuesdays of each month at 10 a.m., Kitley Covill.
Environment, Health & Energy: Tuesdays at 1 p.m., Nancy Barr.
Seniors and Constituents: 3rd Tuesday each month at 10 a.m., David Tubiolo.
Parks, Planning and Economic Development: Mondays at 9 a.m., Mike Kaplowitz.
Public Safety: Mondays at 3 p.m., Margaret Cunzio.
Intergovernmental Services: Mondays at 12 p.m., 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.
