New Rochelle Cuts Ties with Sustainable Westchester Over Ethics Violations by Former Mayor
Noam Bramson, Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester, and Sara Kaye cast illegal votes as Council Members to approve City contracts with Sustainable Westchester
NEW ROCHELLE, NY (February 16, 2024) — The City of New Rochelle has allowed all previous contracts with Sustainable Westchester to expire save one; that one will expire in the fall and is not expected to be renewed.
Noam Bramson announced in 2022 he would not run for election in 2023 following sustained ethics charges and a law enforcement investigation into his illegal efforts to pressure then City Manager Charles B. Strome into appointing him Development Commissioner, a $200,000+ a year job, for which Bramson was not remotely qualified under the City Charter.
Bramson left office last December to take a new job at Sustainable Westchester after yet another set of ethics violations, voting to approve lucrative city contracts to the company he now runs, Sustainable Westchester.
Last December, the Ethics Board ruled those contracts null, void and wholly unenforceable and referred the matter back to the City for action.
At the next city council meeting on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, the council will be asked to approve a short-term contract to finish out the final few months of the remaining contract in order to provide customers continuity before ending the city’s relationship with Sustainable Westchester in October.
Not participating in that council discussion nor voting will be Council Member Sara Kaye who also committed ethics violation after she replaced Bramson on the Sustainable Westchester board. She remains on the Sustainable Westchester board so she will be required to leave the council chambers before the council discussion and vote.
Also leaving the room will be Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert because, even after the sustained ethics charges against Bramson and Kaye, she attended the Sustainable Westchester Annual Members Meeting on Zoom as a voting member on February 14.
History of Sustainable Westchester ESA in New Rochelle
These sections are taken largely from the City Council agenda for Tuesday’s meeting.
In 2015, the City Council passed legislation, now codified in New Rochelle Chapter 131, which placed New Rochelle in the Community Choice Aggregation Energy Program whereby City residents essentially receive all their power needs through bids by Sustainable Westchester. Chapter 131 specifically identifies Sustainable Westchester as the entity that will procure power on behalf of City residents. That legislation was renewed in 2022. Thereafter, the City Council passed legislation re-authorizing the City Manager to enter into an Electric Service Agreement with Sustainable Westchester to act as Program Manager for the CCA Program. The ESA has a two-year term that began on November 1, 2022, and runs through October 31, 2024.
Former Mayor Bramson voted in favor of the foregoing legislation and certain other contracts involving Sustainable Westchester.
Bramson & Kaye Ethics Violations
At the time he voted he was also serving on the Board of Sustainable Westchester. Council member Kaye also voted on certain contracts involving Sustainable Westchester, including the ESA, while serving on the Board of Sustainable Westchester. Neither City Official publicly announced their prohibited interest in Sustainable Westchester on the record or recused themselves when the legislation involving Sustainable Westchester was considered and considered for a vote.
Issues related to the validity of the legislation took on increased scrutiny when Mayor Bramson announced that he would be taking on a paid position as Executive Director of Sustainable Westchester.
A Reporter (me!) submitted a complaint about Sustainable Westchester to the City's Board of Ethics.
The Board of Ethics issued an opinion that the legislation passed involving Sustainable Westchester is invalid because those City Officials had a conflict of interest given their relationship to New Rochelle and Sustainable Westchester. The Board of Ethics referred the pending contracts to the City Manager and Corporation Counsel to make a determination.
The City subsequently obtained an independent legal opinion from outside counsel regarding the ESA currently in place with Sustainable Westchester.
Counsel opined that the failure of the City Officials to disclose their interest in Sustainable Westchester and recuse themselves from voting on legislation benefitting Sustainable Westchester renders the contracts null, void and wholly unenforceable.
The ESA is the only contract currently pending with Sustainable Westchester. All other contracts between the City and Sustainable Westchester have since expired.
Recommendation
In light of the foregoing, Corporation Counsel recommends that the City consider adopting new legislation to continue the ESA with Sustainable Westchester, pursuant to the same terms and conditions as the original ESA, to expire on October 31, 2024. This recommendation will allow the City to continue services with Sustainable Westchester for the remaining 8 ½ months and avoid any sudden disruption to customers' electric services. Once the contract expires, the City can issue a new RFP for a program administrator if it wishes to continue with the same or a similar energy program.
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I had read agenda material before my earlier comment and still don't see a conflict to the detriment of the City, but that is obviously not the view that prevails within the Administration at this time. I know you would like Noam to face a criminal charge. Beyond that (and the upcoming "do-over" on the one remaining SW contract), where do we go from here? Again, should the City demand a refund of all its payments to SW? Even if they were generally advantageous?
I am a lawyer with some time on my hands and no particular ax to grind. I have done several hours of research on this matter. I don't see linked financial benefits to Noam, and even less so to Sara or Yadira, that would make their votes, on various contracts back over the years, conflicts of interest under the letter and spirit of the statute and related caselaw. Nonetheless, I don't profess any particular expertise in municipal law or ethics and presumably the independent outside counsel does. That said, did outside counsel decide that all the SW contracts were null and void ab initio? If so, should the City seek disgorgement of all prior fees paid to SW?