Hilliard resigns as business promoter

Laurie Hilliard speaks at a Bedford Town Board meeting. YOUTUBE 

By JEFF MORRIS

Bedford’s business promoter, Laurie Hilliard, has resigned her position after a little more than two years with the town.

In December 2022, the town board appointed Hilliard as Bedford business promoter, which was to be a one-year position paid for with $30,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

A year later, in December 2023, the board approved a request to allocate $35,000 in ARPA funds to retain Hilliard in 2024. As noted by Supervisor Ellen Calves in her memo to the board that month, “ARPA funds were distributed by the Federal Government to help municipalities with COVID-19 pandemic recovery, where permissible uses of funds included: infrastructure, economic revitalization and resiliency. Recipients must obligate funds by December 31, 2024 and spend the funds by December 31, 2026.” 

Calves said Hilliard had been doing a “wonderful job” building relationships, and that her work is what the ARPA funds were intended to do. She noted the town still had a million dollars in ARPA funds, most of which they wanted to use for infrastructure, but that this $35,000 is “well worth it.”

In December 2024, as it faced the deadline to allocate all remaining ARPA funds, the board extended Hilliard’s contract for two more years, with Calves proposing they continue to support “salary and expenses related to the Promoter functions by allocating $100,000 of ARPA funding for use by the end of the grant period” in 2026. 

Hilliard’s new contract was to have run from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. Asked at that point whether the salary was staying at $35,000, Calves said that in negotiations the previous day, Hilliard had asked for an increase to $38,000, but with a commensurate reduction in a stipend for pre-approved expenses that was also included in the contract.

According to town comptroller Brian Kenneally, the town paid Ms. Hilliard $69,901.50 for her service from March 2023 to April 2025. «Because the role was funded by ARPA, no local tax payer funds were used for this role,» he said Thursday. 

Calves wrote in last December’s memo, “The work of the Business Promoter has successfully helped fill up vacant storefronts, launch a Bedford Hills business association, connected the three hamlet businesses for small business development events and town-wide marketing efforts, improved processes between businesses and town departments, helped to produce the Eat, Shop & Explore brochure and the Art Crawl, supported efforts that have increased foot traffic in the hamlets, and helped to support the development of programs supported by the Westchester County Downtown Improvement Grant that will be fully implemented over the next two years.”

During her tenure, Hilliard helped form the Bedford Economic Alliance, which held its launch event at the Bedford Hills Community House on May 4, 2023. She spoke excitedly about the event, saying, “We were all ecstatic, and the Bedford business community enthusiastically embraced it.” As a result of feedback at that event, she organized a Social Media 101 event to familiarize business owners with the power of using social media and networking with one another. She was also instrumental in having a “Doing Business” page added to the town website.

In her most recent update to the town board last October, Hilliard observed that the view from the Bedford Hills train station toward Depot Plaza was much better than it was the prior year, with “stores that are looking open, and new, and inviting.” She noted a number of new and rejuvenated businesses. “It’s good to know we have some of the longstanding names in the town that are still here, and we have some new young entrepreneurs, and I think it bodes well for next year,” Hilliard said. “They’re all very eager.”

She reviewed efforts to grow the business community, and was particularly excited about the formation of the Bedford Hills Business Association, which she said had developed a logo, branded itself with “Discover Bedford Hills,” and had a presence at Tri-Festa. 

“The talent is there,” said Hilliard, and with the town’s continued support, “they’ll go far.”

In a statement to The Recorder this week, Calves’s chief of staff, Lisa Burke, confirmed that Hilliard had resigned. 

“We can’t thank Laurie enough for the contributions she has made in bringing the board’s commitment to economic vibrancy to the next level,” said Burke. 

She cited some of the events and marketing Hilliard had organized, including Sizzling Thursdays, the Mother’s Day Art Show and the Art Crawl, as well as the Holiday Market. “She developed relationships with many business leaders and owners as well as property owners and these have made more opportunities for businesses,” said Burke. 

“Many of those connections will lay the foundation for the next wave of activity,” continued Burke, “including a façade program in Bedford Hills, more flexibility with consideration of a tenant in the train station and the establishment of a Bedford Hills Business Association, which will pre-launch with an amazing event on May 15 showcasing five legacy Bedford Hills businesses and sponsored by at least a dozen Bedford Hills businesses.” 

Burke added that the town will “continue this amazing work and will identify another resource to continue in this role.”

In response to follow-up questions from The Recorder, Burke said Hilliard’s resignation was effective April 15, and she will be paid through that time frame, which will amount to $12,000 for the year. “We are not obligated to pay her for time she did not work after she resigned,” said Burke. She added that the contract is fully transferable and was not unique to Hilliard.

Asked whether Hilliard had resigned because she found another position, Burke said only, “We did not hear that specifically. Laurie expressed that it was time to move on to use her skills in different ways. But I believe she would like to continue contributing to the town. She did a tremendous amount of work and has laid the foundation for it to continue.”