Village appoints new secretary

When the Rockville Centre Board of Trustees met last month, and for the first time in months, there was someone new sitting with them on the dais—new Secretary to the Board Mary Schmeling.

Schmeling started as Board Secretary on Oct. 5, and was officially appointed to the position at the meeting. She is replacing Monica Farrell Derr, who was promoted to the position of Deputy Clerk Treasurer in July after Carol Kramer retired in late May.

Village Administrator Frank Quigley attributed the delay in finding a replacement for Derr to bureaucracy.

“I guess part of it was going through Civil Service in Mineola,” he said. “[Three months] might not be such an unusual length of time in municipal government to fill a position. The reason it’s notable is simply that Monica took Carol’s position as Deputy Clerk Treasurer around July 6 or 7, and I guess that came up a little quickly, so then we had to find a replacement for Monica.

Schmeling is a former manager for the Zurich insurance company, which village officials felt added to her qualifications.

“She has a lot of experience from a management perspective as a supervisor,” said Quigley. “To me, she emulates Monica’s qualities and she’s an ideal replacement.”

The Secretary to the Board of Trustees is responsible for keeping everything the board does on-track and organized. She organizes the agenda and types of minutes after meetings. The secretary is also in charge of answering requests from board members for information about things. As Quigley put it, she’s like the Chief of Staff for the Village Board.

“And so far, I think everyone is really thrilled with Mary,” he said, “and she’s definitely going to do justice to the Board of Trustees.”

At the same meeting, the board also appointed Mindy Roman as Village Chief Prosecutor. Roman was appointed after the former Chief Prosecutor, Jeff Goodstein, stepped down. Goodstein received a promotion at his job in the county court system and felt there could be a conflict of interest between that position and his job as Chief Prosecutor for Rockville Centre.

Roman, who ran against now-Village Justice Kevin McDonough for that seat last spring, was appointed by Mayor Mary Bossart to her new role. It is the job of the Chief Prosecutor to make sure the village's prosecutions run smoothly at court. The prosecutor also represents the village in negotiations with defendants, ensuring the village receives the settlement it desires.

“It seemed like a pretty darn natural appointment," Quigley said. "She has a lot of experience in the municipal field, especially as former council to the planning board."

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