New Mayor Inaugurated at Village Board Meeting

By Stephen E. Lipken

New Larchmont Mayor Sarah Bauer convened the Monday, December 5th Organization Meeting, with Oath of Office administered to Mayor Bauer by outgoing Mayor Lorraine Walsh; Bauer in turn swore in Trustee Peter Fanelli and new Trustee Charles Manice.  

“It’s great being here for my sixth term and I still am excited about being here,” Fanelli said.  “We thank all of you for your support.”  “I’m excited to learn how to best participate, because there is a lot that has come before and the more I learn the more I realize how many people have put in a lot of hard work, including Lorraine,” Manice noted.  

Special guests attending included County Executive George Latimer, Legislator Catherine Parker, Senator Shelley Mayer and former Trustee Malcolm Frouman.

Next, Mayor Bauer gave the State of the Village Address.  “We are very lucky to live in a community where so many residents are willing to step up and volunteer,” Bauer began.

“This year has been another very busy year in the Village.  We are extremely proud of our accomplishments which range from infrastructure, financial, environmental, to our parks and Business District.   

“Starting with village finances, the Village adopted a Tax Cap Compliant Budget for the fourth year in a row; in addition, for the fourth year in a row, we did not have to apply fund balance for operational expenses. We maintain our highly coveted AAA Bond Rating and allocated $624,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to repair our aging sanitary sewer system.  

“Since 2016, the Village has invested over $1.5 million dollars to clean and maintain our sewer system with approximately $600,000 provided by a 40% NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation Reimbursement Plan… A Flood Mitigation modeling project of the Pinebrook neighborhood has been approved by Westchester County and will require a 50% match by the Village…”

Green initiatives encompassed the gas-powered leaf blower ban, delivery of an electric vehicle for parking code enforcement and approximately half of the Village’s Patrol Fleet are Hybrid vehicles.