Why Not Vote?

by Kathy Savolt -

At the January 26, 2026 work session of the Board of Trustees, the BOT reviewed the current meeting procedures with some changes suggested by Village Clerk Sally Roberts.  Written Board Procedures have been in place since 2008 and were last amended in 2023.

During the discussion, a question was raised about the inclusion of the sentence “The Mayor may not vote on any matter but must vote in case of a tie.”  See HERE. This seems to imply that the mayor has a choice on when to vote.

There are several concerns with this sentence especially since the one right before it says, “Pursuant to Village Law, each member of the Board of Trustees has one vote.”  The Mayor is a member of the Board of Trustees and functions as its Chairperson.  Our current Mayor, Sharon Torres, does not always vote on issues before the BOT.

After a discussion about voting and the options each BOT member has: Aye, Nay or Abstain, it was decided to change the procedure to say that any member of the BOT may not have to vote.  But is this correct?  Shouldn’t an elected official vote on matters before the BOT?  And if they do not want to vote for any reason, shouldn’t they abstain and state why?  Shouldn’t the sentence just be removed?

During the Public Comment period at the Legislative Session of the BOT later that evening, resident Bea Cerasoli asked why the Mayor didn’t vote and stated, “I want to know how she stands on the issues.”

Additionally, the BOT stopped roll call votes a few years ago when the then Clerk-Treasurer was ill.  Since that time, most votes have been a simple voice vote which are not always audible and does not give the BOT member the opportunity to explain their vote. 

Should the BOT return to roll call voting?  What do you think?  Should every member of the BOT, which includes the Mayor, audibly vote on the issues before him or her?  A copy of this article has been posted on our Facebook page.  Please visit and weigh in.