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Katherine J. Daniels, town councilwoman
Katherine is an attorney with almost 3 decades of experience litigating and counseling clients in the areas of intellectual property, first amendment, defamation, privacy, data security, unfair competition, false advertising and employment law.
On the town board Katherine is the chair of the town's Climate Smart Committee and chair of the Capital Planning Committee.
Read more about Katherine below.
Martin Aronchick, town councilman
Martin has worked on many items including our Social Media policy and Code of Ethics. He serves as liaison to the Croton Falls Master Plan Committee, the town's Conservation Advisory Council, Recreation Advisory Committee and Historic Preservation Commission. He also serves on the Police Committee.
Martin's legal background has been instrumental in helping to revamp various town contract provisions to eliminate potential waste and liabilities.
Karen Roach, tax receiver
kroach@northsalemny.gov 914-669-5177 (tax office)
Karen has served on state and county tax receiver associations. She has been active on many community organizations for over twenty years. Under Karen's initiative the tax office has become more efficient and cost-effective, resulting in $2.6 million in reclaimed tax liens. Karen is now serving her 30th year as tax receiver.
From the Desk of Katherine Daniels:
From the Desk of Katherine Daniels:
February 2025
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
I am writing this on February 11, just a few weeks into the chaotic repeat of The Apprentice takes Washington. The avalanche of executive orders and policy reversals have been lawless and, in some cases, cruel. Then there is DOGE. Understandably, all of this has been worrisome for many North Salem residents.
While we all do our best to stay on top of national developments, I pledge to stay focused on good governance in North Salem. I will insist that the Town Board conduct a thorough assessment of how the various directives emanating from the White House could impact the Town’s budget, policies, employees and residents.
Notwithstanding the adverse political winds, I will continue to focus on climate change. The Climate Smart Leadership Team has accomplished so much. We must continue to help the Town save money and shrink its carbon footprint by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. We must also continue to
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work to build resiliency to extreme weather. Most thoughtful people know that reliance on fossil fuel makes us weak and vulnerable and that addressing climate change is the right thing to do.
I will continue to keep my commitment to transparency, planning and community engagement. This has not been as easy as I hoped. Cost over-runs in renovations of Delancey Hall and the lack of meaningful public engagement regarding the proposed sewer project in Croton Falls are just two examples. The Town Board must do a much better job of planning! We must do our homework first, ask all residents what they want and build consensus . . . as opposed to simply telling people what the Board wants to do. I pledge to keep working on this.
Perhaps most importantly, I will do my best to hold our representatives in Washington accountable for their actions or lack thereof.
I appreciate the opportunity to serve you on the Town Board and I hope you will continue to support me in that role.
Sincerely,
Katherine
From the Desk of Martin Aronchick:
From the Desk of Martin Aronchick:
February 2025
This coming November, I will seek re-election to a four-year term as a North Salem Town Councilman, a position that I have held since 2015. I want to thank the voters of North Salem, and in particular the North Salem Democratic Club, as well as the North Salem Democratic Town Committee, for supporting me in the past, and hope that I can count on the same support in the future.
For those who don’t know me, I’d like to give some information about my background. I’d also like to let everyone know what I’ve been doing on the Town Board and the projects I will be working on in the immediate future.
I believe in public service. From the time my family moved into Town more than twenty years ago, I have volunteered to get involved in the life of the community. I am a Croton Falls Fire Dept. firefighter and EMT; a trustee and Co-President of the Historical Society; and an active volunteer with the Lion’s Club. In the past, I was an Assistant Scoutmaster with Boy Scout Troop 1. I have been a member of the Town’s Comprehensive Plan and Open Space Committees. I value being an elected leader because it is also an important way to contribute to the welfare of the Town and its residents. I have done my best to do so as a member of the Town Council since I was first elected in 2014.
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I am an attorney, and have spent most of my career in public service. I was a member of the Executive Staff of the NY State Organized Crime Task Force. I was also an Assistant Division Chief in the NYC Law Dept. and an Executive Staff member of the Inspector General for NYC School Construction. This has given me a wealth of experience in government service. When I left public service, I became a Managing Director with Thacher Associates, LLC, and subsequently with K2 Integrity LLC; I advised the Firms’ government clients on integrity and compliance issues. I am now retired from the practice of law.
As a member of the Town Board, I have scrutinized each of the many contracts that the Town enters into, looking for ways to protect the Town’s interests. I wrote a new ethics code, to safeguard the Town’s integrity, and a new social media policy, to promote transparency.
Among my priorities as a Town Councilman are promoting the North Salem Hamlet of Croton Falls; protecting the Town’s environment; preserving the Town’s unique historical character; creating new opportunities for recreation; and supporting the Town’s fine police department. I was the Town Board’s liaison to the Committee drafting the master plan for the Croton Falls Hamlet. In addition, the Town Board has acquired property in Croton Falls and has been planning a sewer system, to be implemented in phases; I have scrutinized these acquisitions and plans to make sure that they are responsive to the current and future needs of the Hamlet.
To achieve the other purposes stated above, I have served, and continue to serve, as the Town Board’s liaison to the Conservation Advisory Committee, the Recreation Committee, and the Historic Preservation Commission, and one of the leaders of the Town Task Force that reviewed the procedures and policies of the Town Police Department and made recommendations for its betterment.
In 2023, the Town acquired Three Owens Road so it could serve as a community and recreation center. I have worked extensively with the Town’s Recreation Department to make sure that the use of this facility is responsive to the needs and desires of our local residents, and wrote the policy and procedure for the facility (adopted by the Town Board) to make sure it serves these purposes. I also took on the job of writing another policy and procedure (also adopted by the Town Board) to encourage and regulate events on other Town properties, and it has proved successful, resulting in events that were popular with and well-attended by the public. The latter has helped guide the use of the pocket park in Croton Falls in 2021 and 2022 for arts festivals that were held there, and the use of the Croton Falls commuter parking lot for farmer’s markets that were held there in the summer and fall of 2024. (Hopefully, you enjoyed the music that my jazz duo played at those events!)
Going forward, I will be working with the Town’s Recreation Advisory Committee as it takes on an exciting new project: an update to the Town’s Recreation Master Plan.
I enjoy my service on the Town Board. We conduct the Town’s business in a civil, non-partisan and effective manner. The most important task that we are confronting is protection of North Salem’s rural character and open spaces, while keeping our taxes down and our property values up. I will continue to be a strong advocate who will protect North Salem from over development.
It is of paramount importance that the Town Board fulfill the wishes and goals of the entire community – its residents, property owners and business operators – in everything we do. I draw on my knowledge of the Town’s affairs from my Town Board service and from my participation in local civic groups to accomplish these goals. But I need your help. Please contact me at 914-276-0212 (my home phone) or at maronchick@northsalemny.org (my Town email) or at mnrj@optonline.net (my home email) to share your ideas about what the Town should be doing or if otherwise you wish to speak to me about any aspect of Town business.
The Town needs your help as a volunteer as well. The diverse array of Town committees provides a means of getting involved in the Town’s affairs in a manner that appeals to your specific interests. Please contact me if you wish to explore being a Town volunteer.
It is a privilege to serve as a Town Councilman, and I thank the voters of North Salem for giving me the opportunity to do so!
Martin C. Aronchick
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