Board Resubmits Speed Camera Home Rule Request for Third Time, Approves $15,000 Recruitment Firm 4-1

The Croton-on-Hudson Board of Trustees held a brief special meeting June 2, unanimously adopting a home rule request for state authorization to establish a school speed zone camera program and voting 4-1 to spend $15,000 on a recruitment firm to help fill the new assistant village manager position.

Vouchers totaling $562,091.09 across five funds were approved without discussion. Speed zone camera home rule request For the third time in three weeks, the board adopted a resolution requesting the state legislature authorize a school speed zone camera demonstration program in the village. Each submission has been necessitated by changes to the underlying state legislation. Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg has introduced bill A11322-B in the Assembly, with companion legislation S10058-C from state senator Pete Harckham. Under legislative rules, any amendment to the bill text requires the village to submit a fresh home rule request. Village Manager Bryan Healy explained the latest changes. "Last week, there was a change in the wording of the traffic violations bureau versus parking violations bureau, which necessitated the new requests last week. And then this week's request more has to do with the adjudication of these tickets and, you know, what happens if somebody does not pay the ticket." {{quote:173}} Healy added that "the merits of the program have not changed through any of the revisions." {{quote:173}} Trustee Nora Nicholson said she has heard from residents who misunderstand what the vote means and took time to clarify the scope. "This does not mean that we are definitely going to vote to do this." {{quote:228}} she said. "This bill, if and when signed by the governor, only gives our village the legal authority to establish a school speed zone camera pilot program." {{quote:228}} She noted that cameras are intended to capture only the rear of vehicles, not faces, passengers, or vehicle interiors. Nicholson also urged the board to take a comprehensive approach to camera policy rather than addressing school zone cameras, red light cameras, and intersection cameras in separate discussions. "I would just ask for us to consider, like, a comprehensive camera strategy approach," {{quote:405}} she said. Trustee Stacey Nachtaler noted the Police Advisory Committee is planning a community survey and suggested it could gather useful data on camera sentiment. "It was suggested that that might be a good spot to be touching the community again to get some feedback on that," {{quote:449}} she said, adding that the survey results could inform a future work session discussion.

Healy pointed to the village's experience with red light cameras as a precedent. The board sought home rule authorization last year, the governor signed the bill in October 2025, and the village has not yet begun implementing a program. "We have the authority, but we haven't actually even begun the implementation process of that," {{quote:344}} he said. Mayor Brian Pugh noted that the village has sometimes waited more than a year between receiving home rule authorization and enacting local regulations. The resolution passed unanimously. Assistant village manager recruitment The board voted 4-1 to retain Prakademic Partners at a cost not to exceed $15,000 to recruit candidates for the new assistant village manager position, with $15,000 transferred from contingency contractual to municipal executive contractual in the 2026-27 general fund budget. Deputy Mayor Len Simon, drawing on his experience in municipal government, strongly supported the hire. He called the recruitment "one of the most important hires that we've had in the village since we hired the manager way back in 2021," {{quote:579}} and said he "would not look forward to tasking the manager with the additional work of having to go through" {{quote:579}} the search process himself. Nicholson thanked Healy for negotiating the fee down from its initial amount and said attracting talent to help manage the village's roughly $24 million budget is critical. Trustee Maria Slippen noted that Prakademic Partners will help define the role itself, not just recruit for it. "Not only will Prakademic Partners help us with the recruiting, they're also gonna help us with really hashing out kind of what that job description is and what the duties are," {{quote:852}} she said. Nachtaler cast the lone no vote. "I think that $15,000 is a lot of money, especially for what the salary of this position is going to be. And I think that it is well within our ability to at least give this a try without laying out $15,000 worth of taxpayer dollars," {{quote:752}} she said.

Pugh acknowledged the village could potentially fill the position without the expense but said time pressure made the risk unacceptable. "Given the time pressures we are under, I would not wanna take that chance, because I think getting the right person in the job is paramount and getting them in at the right time," {{quote:893}} he said. Both Nicholson and Pugh cited succession planning as a factor in the timing of the hire.