After more than a year and a half without a superintendent, the Department of Public Works for the village of Bronxville has finally filled the position. On Monday, Feb. 8, the Board of Trustees appointed Wayne Ballard, of New City, New York, to take on the role of superintendent. Village Administrator Jim Palmer said the search took as long as it did because the village wanted to ensure that the right individual would be hired for the job.
“I believe he has the right professional experience as well as educational background that will meet the needs of our village at this point in time,” Palmer said.
Ballard, a professional engineer, served as the superintendent of the Clarkstown Highway Department in Rockland County for more than 15 years where he oversaw more than 70 employees for a town of 85,000 people. Bronxville’s DPW is much smaller, with only 23 employees serving a population of approximately 6,400 people.
Besides the difference in size, Ballard said that he will be using his experience as a professional engineer more now than he previously did. Due to Bronxville’s small geographical size, he will be able to help with engineering projects instead of focusing solely on roads and highways.
“I’ve always missed the ability to be more involved in engineering projects,” Ballard said. His list of things to do include installing 50 new LED lights in the village, and removing the coin-operated parking meters and replacing them with pay kiosks in village parking lots.
“He’s already hit the ground running,” Palmer said of Ballard.
In addition to the new lighting and parking projects, Palmer added that Ballard will contribute to adding new street signs for the village, restoring the front walkway at Village Hall and repairing the village’s sanitary sewer system.
The search for a new superintendent proved difficult for the village, as village officials struggled to find what they considered to be qualified candidates. In July 2014, former Superintendent Rocco Circosta left the department for a job in the private sector. In his absence, Victor Lema, the DPW foreman, served as interim superintendent, and picked up the slack during what turned into a lengthy hiring process.
“Mr. Palmer and our general foreman assumed much greater roles and we’ve had people step up,” Bronxville Mayor Mary Marvin, a Republican, told the Review last year.
The process was a two-step procedure, where Palmer first made sure the candidate checked out, and then determined if he was a fit to move on to be interviewed by the mayor. Then, the mayor, with the help of Palmer, would vet each candidate.
Although it has been around two weeks since Ballard was appointed, he told the Review that joining the department was a smooth transition. Ballard, who will paid an annual salary of $155,000, said that Circosta did a “phenomenal job,” adding that the department is very well organized.
“It is a well-oiled machine here,” he said.
