Goldberg Out as North Castle Town Administrator
North Castle Town Administrator Joan Goldberg was suddenly escorted out of Town Hall last week after the Town Board decided against renewing her contract.
Supervisor Michael Schiliro informed town employees last Wednesday of the decision and said he met with department heads the following morning to review how the town would divide responsibilities until an interim administrator is in place.
Goldberg, who was hired in September 2012 as North Castle’s first-ever town administrator, will be paid through the end of this month when her contract expires but is no longer reporting to work, Schiliro said. A call to the town administrator’s office last Thursday morning went to a voice mail message stating that she would return to work on Sept. 4.
Schiliro would not detail the reason for the board’s decision.
“We thank Joan for her service,” Schiliro said. “She was the first town administrator the town had and she was instrumental in the changes that she implemented and continued our strong financial footing in the town, managing the tax cap, etc., and we recognize all of that and her strong commitment to the Town of North Castle. We wish her well in the future.”
Councilman and Deputy Supervisor Stephen D’Angelo said he and his board colleagues would not comment further on the issue because it was a personnel matter.
Goldberg, reached last Friday, said she had “zero notice” about the board’s decision. Returning from a two-week vacation on Sept. 4, Goldberg said she received an e-mail from Schiliro on Labor Day asking her to meet at 4 p.m. the following day.
During that meeting, Goldberg said she was told the town was not going to renew her contract and she was escorted out of the building. She said there had been no inkling that her tenure would end and never recalled any criticism coming from Schiliro or the board. All comments she received from the supervisor’s office regarding her performance were “nothing but compliments,” according to Goldberg.
“In the meeting, I said as a professional, if I failed in some way you need to tell me that,” Goldberg said. “I met with the supervisor in June to discuss the expiring contract and to ask him what his goals were and ask him for a review of my performance, what could I do differently, what could I do better, was I meeting the board’s needs.
“I’d say it was a surprise,” she continued. “But that’s their prerogative. I just wish there was more communication.”
Goldberg, 53, said she had also been performing the personnel manager’s duties, since that post had been vacant since March.
Goldberg and the board came to terms on a three-year contract in 2015, which paid her $153,000 the first year, $160,000 the second year and at least $166,000 for the final year. Goldberg said the town picked up the option for the third year last November and gave her a raise that was “above and beyond what was required in the contract.”
The search for the interim has immediately gotten underway, Schiliro said. Once someone is in place, the board will begin looking for a permanent administrator.
Schiliro assured residents that the town’s departments would run smoothly and efficiently. He said all matters that had gone through Goldberg’s office would now be routed through the supervisor’s office with some responsibilities likely delegated to department heads.
“All of the department heads are more than capable, as they always have been, of managing the departments and our town,” he said.
Goldberg said she offered to finish various projects that she was working and also offered to help with the transition but was rebuffed. Last week she mentioned that she planned to send a list of items for the board to look out for.
“My biggest regret is that I feel like I’m leaving the employees and the department heads without guidance and I never would have done that,” Goldberg said.
During the past six years, controversy has periodically followed Goldberg. She arrived in North Castle after 16 years as comptroller in Yorktown. She left that position following a run-in with the former supervisor and board majority at that time, resigned and became the North Castle Town Administrator. Upon leaving the Yorktown position, she took about $77,000 in unused vacation pay that Goldberg contended she was entitled to. She went to court in hopes of keeping the money but was unsuccessful after a judge ruled that the contract she had with the town was unenforceable.
In December 2013, Goldberg was terminated by the previous North Castle Town Board after being accused of misconduct. She was rehired a few weeks later when Schiliro and a new board majority took office.
This article has been updated since the original post on Sept. 7.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
