Overview of Village Legal Expenses

by Kathy Savolt -

Shortly after the new Board of Trustees was seated last December, an agenda item appeared listing 23 proposed, pending or current lawsuits involving the Village that were to be discussed in the January 12th Executive Session.  See Agenda HERE. That appeared to be a substantial number so we at The Mamaroneck Observer decided to take a look. 

Subsequently, Village Manager Kathleen Gill has targeted legal fees for a $486,000 reduction next fiscal year.  This fact made our review more pertinent and timely.

Background

The current Village Attorney, Robert Spolzino, was first engaged in 2017.  He is currently a partner at  an outside law firm –Abrams, Fensterman, et al –  and has a contract with the Village that involves both a retainer for specified services and a fee list for services outside the scope of the retainer.  See current contract HERE. Note that this contract expired on December 31, 2024 and no new contract has yet been awarded.  There is no clause in this contract to automatically extend it.

Spolzino is primarily responsible for providing legal services but can recommend up to two other attorneys as Deputies, subject to BOT approval.  Currently, Mary Desmond serves as Deputy Village Attorney and attorney to the Planning Board and HCZMC.

Retainer Services

Initially, Spolzino’s  monthly retainer ranged from $6,000 to $6,800.  Over the years, more was added to the scope of work and fees went up bringing the current monthly retainer fee to $15,375 ($184,500/year).  The scope of services includes providing legal counsel to the Board of Trustees (BOT), Planning Board and the Harbor Coastal Zone Management Commission (HCZMC) and the Village Manager and various Village department heads including the Chief of Police and Building Inspector.

Non-retainer Services

In addition to the retainer services, Spolzino’s contract with the Village outlines services to be provided on a fee-for-service basis.  This includes representing the Village in litigation, labor matters, the lease or sale of property and the broad category of  “other legal services.”

Non-retainer services are further broken down into three categories:  Village business, litigation and services related to applications.  Services for the first two categories are billed at $375/hour.  The applications-related category is different.

Applications

When members of the BOT, Planning Board, HCZMC or Board of Architectural Review have an application before them that requires legal review, the cost is passed on to the applicant.  By contract, Spolzino may bill at $375/hour for the first 7 hours per application and $475/hour thereafter.  These payments are not paid the same way as the other legal expenses and do not show up on any budget or expense report.  We have submitted a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request for this information. 

It should be noted that the Zoning Board of Appeals has separate legal counsel.

Litigation

The current contract designates Spolzino as the Village’s litigation counsel “unless the BOT decides otherwise.”  In addition to the legal fees, the Village pays any out of pocket expenses for litigation.

The Costs

Total payments to Spolzino since 2017 total almost $3.2 million and break down as follows (dollars in thousands by fiscal year):

2017    $152.8 (partial year)

2018    $232.0

2019    $235.4

2020    $176.4

2021    $470.7

2022    $255.5

2023    $514.5

2024    $860.3

2025    $299.4 (through 3/11/25)

Note these payments do not include payments reimbursed by applicants for applications before the BOT, Planning Board or HCZMC.

These total costs can be reported by categories contained in the contract with Retainer expenses totaling $1.1 million, Village non-retainer items at $127,000 and Litigation costs the highest at $1.9 million.  Additionally, there was $38K paid in 2024 that has not yet been categorized.  These amounts cover about 7 full years and 2 partial years.

This brings us back to the 23 outstanding lawsuits.  With the largest portion of our legal expenses related to pending litigation, how will an almost $500K cut be realized?

It should be noted that the Village Attorney provides legal advice to the BOT, Planning Board and HCZMC regarding litigation. Without proper oversight any attorney could be in a position to potentially benefit financially from their own advice.

There are pieces of the puzzle missing at this time. We will continue to gather information concerning the remainder of the payments and ongoing litigation and will report our findings accordingly.

Editor’s Note: Editor Cindy Goldstein has two legal matters pending with the Village.