Spring Valley's attorney quits, cites 'dysfunction'

SPRING VALLEY – The village attorney who has stood beside Mayor Demeza Delhomme during his tumultuous tenure has resigned, along with his assistant.

"The level of dysfunction was so great that I felt that there was not much that can be done on my part to fix some of the multitude of issues that are plaguing the village," Jerrold Miles said this week. "It is an opportunity for someone else to take a crack at it."

Appointed by Delhomme in December 2013, Miles helped Delhomme with the village's mounting legal issues, including lawsuits filed by the three-member village board majority: Trustees Vilair Fonvil, Asher Grossman and Emilia White. The majority contends the legal steps were needed to protect the village and its residents from what it called Delhomme's arbitrary actions.

State Supreme Court Justice Gerald Loehr jailed Delhomme for contempt in August based on a complaint filed by the majority, who argued that Delhomme was blocking access to the civic center, where the village's summer camp has been held for 14 years. Miles scrambled to get him out.

When Delhomme was released after four days in jail, Miles told reporters that the conflict involving the summer camp was a result of a political struggle among elected officials.

"I am hopeful that ... at this point, we'll start seeing a bit of settling and understanding that there has to be some middle ground between individuals on the board so that there can be progress in the village," Miles said at the time.

But the discord between Delhomme and the board majority has continued.

White said she was elected to represent her constituents, and casts her vote with her conscience, not to please the mayor.

"I don't work for the mayor. Some people say we all work for the mayor. They think we are under the mayor. ... So many people in this village got it so wrong," White said.

Miles, along with his assistant Corey Turner, resigned as of Dec. 19, although Delhomme didn't confirm their departure until recently.

"I hung in there as long as I could. I couldn't do it anymore," Miles said this week. "It was definitely time for me and Corey Turner to step back and step away."

Delhomme said Friday he was disappointed and saddened by Miles' departure.

"Mr. Miles grew up in this community. It was an opportunity for him to become a role model for our children in the community," Delhomme said, blaming the board majority for Miles' resignation. "It was a great loss for the community."

From the majority trustees' point of view, Miles had never been village attorney because they disputed his Dec. 2, 2013, appointment, saying they never voted to approve it. The Rockland County Department of Personnel took no action on the majority's claim, as the village provided proof of the appointment. Fonvil has said the documents provided to the county were falsified by the Delhomme administration.

At a recent village board meeting, Delhomme tried to fill the village attorney position, but his proposal died amid a lack of support from the board majority.

Feerick Lynch MacCartney PLLC of South Nyack, which has been retained by the majority as the village's special counsel since February, is filling the void.

Miles, who was paid $87,000 a year, said he would continue to be involved in the community. He's hoping conditions in the village improve, but he's not too optimistic.

"In order for any municipality to move forward, the mayor and the board have to find some common ground," Miles said. "And this mayor and this board have found no common ground. Without that, there is very little hope to move forward."

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