.
Feedback

[UPDATE] Port Chester Village Manager Resigns

Christopher Russo leaving office Oct. 5.

The clocking is ticking on Port Chester's day-to-day management.

With its post still officially vacant, Port Chester only has two months left before its full-time village manager leaves office.

, who has been village manager since 2008, has turned in his resignation and is set to leave office on Oct. 5.

Russo's resignation comes as Port Chester is in the middle of some key issues:

- Coming up with a new Comprehensive Plan for the village's future, and an updated zoning code to go with it to control future development.

- Completing the changeover in the way in which the village collects revenue for sewer usage. The village plans on charging for sewer usage based on water consumption. However, the village has not completed the billing system that will generate fees.

- Solving the problems with the that supports the Port Chester waterfront.

On , Russo told the village Board of Trustees on Monday night that specifications for bids on the waterfront bulkhead repair are expected to be published on Friday.

The project, Russo said, is expected to cost from $5 million to $6 million. He expects potential bidders will need about a month to examine the scope of the project and submit bids.

Going to Florida

Russo said his departure from Port Chester can up quickly.

“This is something that was kind of unexpected," Russo. "In this business if
you are going to make a move the position you are looking for needs to
be open. The mayor from Sunny Isles Beach, FL, who I have remained
close with, contacted me and asked me if I wanted my old job back. I
was planning to head down that way in a couple of years anyway. I am
not leaving because of anything here in Port Chester, I have really
enjoyed my time here. I think we have accomplished a lot and there are
still some things I plan to finish before I leave in October. With the
opportunity coming open I just felt it was the right time to make the
move.”

Port Chester resident Bea Conetta said the village will miss Russo.

Chris Russo leaving is going to be a very big loss," Conetta said. "To me, this administration has begun to turn this town around. A lot of things have been turned around and the entire staff has done a great job but [Russo] has been a great part of that.”

Linda Turturino August 7, 2012 at 12:33 pm
did not attend meeting last night - had to deal with storm damage. What is going to be the process? Are we going to go months without one? Is he/she going to be able to write their own deal like Mr. Russo did? Are we going to advertize for someone and interview or take to easy way and give the position to Mr. Steers? All good questions I think.....
Jing Xie August 7, 2012 at 08:04 pm
How does one get more involved as a Port Chester community member? I'm new to the area and just settled into a condo here...as I'm now paying taxes into the village of Port Chester / town of Rye I'd like to get a better idea of all the issues the village is working through and help out if possible.
William Demarest (Editor) August 7, 2012 at 08:30 pm
Jing: Welcome to Port Chester. The folks over at Port Chester Village Hall are very nice. If you stop by Village Hall, 222 Grace Church St., Port Chester, I'm sure they can give you an update how to get involved locally. Just stop by the Village Clerk's Office.
RyeDad August 8, 2012 at 02:20 am
Rumor has it Rye City of Rye Manager Scott Pickup is also leaving very soon.
JJ August 8, 2012 at 04:09 am
Can someone please tell us what happened here?
This Village Manager is in the middle of some very important decisions ; and he leaves? WHY? Someone wrote that he "setup" his own contract? What's that all about too? What the heck is happening in PC? What about all of the people he brought with him; do they leave too? WE NEED ANSWERS HERE.
Bart Didden August 8, 2012 at 09:02 pm
They are good questions -
The BOT is discussing its options, the good thing is we have a great asst. manager in Chris Steers and he has been doing some great work with defined resources and goals. The conservative members have put forth its ideas and the democrats appear receptive. There is nothing easy about PC, even if it becomes Mr. Steers. With the elections coming the current BOT should not offer any contracts longer than 18 months and allow the next BOT that starts April 1st, take a look at the interim and offer a longer contract to the interim or look elsewhere. I have a lot of faith in Mr. Steers.
Bart Didden August 8, 2012 at 09:04 pm
Jing, if you are conservative in nature I invite you to e-mail me at bdidden(at)aol(dot)com, we are always looking for new members to the party and people looking to become involved with Boards and Commissions to make Port Chester the best it has ever been.
btw, welcome to Port Chester
Bart Didden August 8, 2012 at 09:11 pm
JJ, life takes us in lots of different directions.
Mr. Russo has never hidden his goal to return Florida where he plans to retire. He was made an offer that he can't refuse and I not only thank him for the work he has done here in Port Chester, but what he will do between now and October 5th. He did not "set-up" his contract, he negotiated it like any other professional and his replacement will do the same. At this point we don't see any other members of the professional staff of the Village leaving. They are all well respected and highly valued, besides I believe that they like working here in Port Chester. If they didn't like it here they would have been gone a long time ago. Now you have your answers
Interested Reader August 8, 2012 at 09:38 pm
What seems to be true is that Manager Russo, his staff and some Department Heads have gained some ground on several important issues over the last two years. I would think a counter offer to maintain current staff and our coarse may be in the tax payers best interest. If that is not viable or possible I hope we can bring up, promote and realign the hard working and trustworthy staff we have regardless of where they sit now. The tax payer should be on the look out for a takeover by the old guard who got us in the situation. Stay involved.
Concerned View August 10, 2012 at 02:38 pm
The Village Manager leaves with a mixed record at best; an impending disaster re the 2013 elections, hordes of cars (1,000+) to flood the Village 2x week en route to the Capitol without a Village plan to address, a sewer district not implemented, a bulkhead that only now is being bid to repair but not replace (cave in to G&S), no 5 year capital plan, no 5 year budget plan, Comprehensive Plan that Mr Steers had to save,,,,, what project has Russo actually completed? Think Russo's biggest accomplishment was hiring Mr Steers. My impression is that Russo was content to earn his $195,000 salary and just say yes to the BOT's whim of the day.

Newsletter & Alerts

Get the best stories each day and important breaking news

Subscribe

Not from Port Chester Patch? Find your Local Patch »

Note Article
Just a short thought to get the word out quickly about anything in your neighborhood.
Share something with your neighbors. Write a new post... What's up? Make an announcement, speak your mind, or sell something
Laurie MacAllister June 18, 2013 at 09:20 pm
Ginger, Moe and Frankie. I am privilaged to honor you and Gabby with this funraiser. I would alsoRead More like to thank my family who drive 370 miles to help me and show their love for you. So many volunteers that help. Thank you Tina, Ray and Melissa for holding down the tshirt and bookbag table. Thank you to mom and dad for holding down the refreshment table and to Julie, Carley and Jason for working the raffle table. Also to Gabby for the wonderful tattoos and for Missy for teaching our children about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. I would also like to thank Al for bringing the firetruck and all the enjoyment it brought the little ones. Now to all that came and donated, I thank you. Without you all there would be no "WALK". Love you all, Peace and Love, Laurie.
Laurie MacAllister June 18, 2013 at 09:23 pm
One more person, my husband Rusty, you are my glue that holds me together. Thank you for putting upRead More with me through all my craziness. Love you.
Laurie MacAllister June 18, 2013 at 09:28 pm
Sorry Pete from Memorable Moments. You know how much you are appreciated for the wonderful picturesRead More that you took the day of the "walk" words cannot describe how I appreciate you donating your time. Thank you.
PC Lover June 15, 2013 at 09:04 am
Cathy, Westmed should refer to you as "Valued Customer". No person can serve two masters.Read More Every Doctor must ask themself, "Am I serving my patients or am I serving the insurance companies? Because those two are in direct financial conflict with each other. Seven minute maximum "face time" sort of answers that question, doesn't it? Today, medicine is a business...once you accept that fact you will begin to have the proper mind set to better navigate the system as a customer, not as a patient. There are exceptions.
PC Lover June 15, 2013 at 09:06 am
Craig, I may be wrong but I doubt the average doctor at Westmed is making that much money. Do youRead More have a reference for that estimate or just wishful thinking?
PC Lover June 15, 2013 at 09:13 am
Cathy..I agree wholeheartedly. Charging for parking is the epitome of arrogance. As the insuranceRead More companies squeeze Westmed they are trying to pass their overhead onto us, when what they should be doing is dropping the underpaying plans and letting the world know which insurance companies they can no longer accept due to the insurance company's corporate greed. Maybe then the reimbursement will improve. I hope they choke on it.
Craig Noor June 14, 2013 at 05:31 pm
The new picture is decent ... only about 15 percent Byram.
Silvio V. Buccieri June 14, 2013 at 06:29 pm
IF you like roof tops, then this is picture you should keep posted.
FJT June 17, 2013 at 08:43 am
The photo I was referring to was the one that showed the Byram River not the one that's up thereRead More now. The village's own website has some nice photos of Port Chester. Maybe the Patch could ask to borrow one of those, or take their own photo using the same vantage point.
Craig Noor June 13, 2013 at 05:33 pm
ps oh yeah, it's stand by, not standby
Craig Noor June 14, 2013 at 07:40 am
Not surprisingly, the Greenwich patch photo is of a dumpster and the rye patch photo is ofRead More people's,owing crack. Or not pathetic!
Aidan June 14, 2013 at 11:32 am
Keep at it, Katie. It's a small potatoes thing. You'll get it straight, I'm sure. Thanks for theRead More energy.
Sandra Casey June 11, 2013 at 12:37 pm
This photo is still not appropriate. Sorry, but it is more of Byram than of Port Chester. PleaseRead More choose a photo in Port Chester.
Craig Noor June 11, 2013 at 05:36 pm
Yep the left half is Byram ... As I mentioned, if you stood in Byram you could take a picture thatRead More was all Port Chester ...
Bea Conetta June 12, 2013 at 10:07 am
This picture is truly ridiculous, because it is not Port Chester. It is a photo of Byram and aRead More parking lot. As for Patch's new format, I dislike it intensely. Go back to the old format that was more interesting and not so dull. It was good to see the comments of residents and be able to give your own opinion. It wasn't broken, so why change it? I am still waiting to get some help on how to get to my past comments. Can anyone help me with that problem that arose with the new format?
niecey June 10, 2013 at 08:02 am
I agree. It is awful. Go back to old design. I hardly go to the website anymore
Gus garcia June 11, 2013 at 10:26 am
Please! The "OLD "PATCH WAS SO MUCH EASIER TO NAVIGATE!!!!! I USED TO READ IT EVERYDAY! !!Read More NOW I JUST HATE To OPEN it:(
Aidan June 11, 2013 at 03:54 pm
I visit a lot less nowadays.
Gus garcia June 11, 2013 at 10:33 am
This reminds me what " COCA-COLA" DID DECADES AGO! . THEY CAME OUT WITH A DIFFERENT"Read More COKE" NEW! IMPROVED! ETC.ETC. FORMULA. PEOPLE HATED IT THE FIRST DAY IT WENT TO THE SHELVES! LATER ON THEY WENT BACK TO THE ORIGINAL !!! ..... IF IT AINT BROKEN!....
Aidan June 14, 2013 at 11:53 am
Yeah. It's lousy. Admit it and fix it.
Liz Giegerich (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 03:30 pm
Hi Silvio, Thanks for offering. We have a photo to be used. Just waiting for it to be changed by ourRead More tech team. Thank you.
Liz Giegerich (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 03:18 pm
HI everyone, I do not have the ability to change it myself right now. Patch is aware of the repeatedRead More requests for it to be changed. A new photograph will be put in place as soon as possible. Again, sorry for the delay and for the initial mistake that led to this photo being used. The photo that is supposed to be there is the one used on our facebook page right now.
Lisa Gentes-Hunt (Editor) June 6, 2013 at 03:36 pm
Feel free to send feedback about the site directly to AOL. Here is the link. Thanks!Read More http://feedback.aol.com/product/patch/?tid=446&r=http%3A%2F%2Fportchester.patch.com%2Fgroups%2Fopinion%2Fp%2Fplease-go-back-to-the-old-website-design
Craig Noor June 8, 2013 at 07:45 am
I sent my comment on the new pic to that email too and suggest others do too so it can be replacedRead More with a good picture
Linda Turturino June 6, 2013 at 02:08 pm
we as a community need to rally and support the efforts to right all the long past due wrongs thisRead More is a terrible situation and I for one will not rest until it is fixed and I will not take responsibility for wrongs made before my Grand Birth
FJT June 17, 2013 at 09:09 am
Sadly, comments that were posted here by Craig Noor and FJT have been removed -- along with anotherRead More commenter's invitation to share more about the issue at hand. Perhaps our comments were too negative in the eyes of certain people with more power than the average Port Chester property owner.
epp June 19, 2013 at 12:57 am
My neighborhood is riddled with irresponsible renters thanks to the money hungry dirt bag landlords.Read More More burden on the schools and village services and we pay for it every year. My property value went down another $17,000 this past year while taxes keep rising. Eighteen years here and the last seven years have not been very promising.
Liz Giegerich (Editor) June 5, 2013 at 10:36 am
I am so sorry about this. We will have it changed as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
Anne Latella June 8, 2013 at 11:26 am
I believe the Port Chester High School is the most beautiful High School in Westchester and all ofRead More the surrounding states. Its architecture is incomparable. It should be representative of the village and its residents. Also you might consider the Veterans Monument on Westchester Ave or Lyons Park with the flowers in bloom. All historical and representative of the beauty of the village. Any one of these sites would make a beautiflul
Anne Latella June 8, 2013 at 11:28 am
Patch Picture & represent the village in a magnificent manner.
Craig Noor June 4, 2013 at 07:16 pm
And while I'm on the subject of ugly this redesign is still hideous. Nice inscrutable icon next toRead More my post - it adds nothing, but meanwhile you have removed the preview of people's comments that used to come up when you clicked on their name. And this light gray type is awful. And it doesn't make the ads more visible if that is what you were thinking
Craig Noor June 4, 2013 at 07:17 pm
Wow, hit a paragraph return and it posts your comment prematurely. Are two-paragraph comments tooRead More much sophistication for your audience, advertisers, or editors?
Anna June 4, 2013 at 09:05 pm
I personally like this image of Main Street...although I would agree it is a sloppy photograph andRead More is not framed well. Why pretend that Port Chester is something that it isn't? It's not Rye. And I don't know why you'd rather have an image of generic sailboats as a backdrop.