MONTICELLO — In a hastily called Thursday morning emergency meeting, the Village of Monticello Board of Trustees, in a unanimous vote, made official the hiring of former county Legislator and Division of Health and Family Services Deputy Commissioner David Sager as Monticello's next village manager.

Sager is the seventh man to be named to the post in as many years. Since the board voted earlier this year to remove Village Mayor Gordon Jenkins, who was then doing double duty as “acting” manager, three others have been named and since removed from the post.

For his part, though, Jenkins couldn't be happier about Sager's hiring: “The man is not only extremely qualified for the position, he's also a county and village boy... he knows the area as good as anyone and I think he's a tremendous fit for the village and this board.”

“The whole board voted today and the fact that it was a unanimous vote is wonderful,” affirmed Jenkins. “With the last several managers, the board was just completely divided on them, so it's great to have everyone in agreeance on this one.

“It's a $78,000-a-year job,” Jenkins added. “You can't take a post like this for pay like that and be ‘learning on the job.' Sager can come in sit on the seat and drive, which is one of the main reasons he was the man for the job... he's dedicated and he's going to do a great job. I very much look forward to working with David and I think he will finally allow for some stability to be associated with the job.”

Village Trustee Doug Solomon said, “I think that more than anything it was extremely important for whoever was to be hired to have received a unanimous vote from this board.”

The former Monticello Police Chief added, “To be an effective manager for this village you're going to need the full support of the board.”

Solomon, who says he is “very good friends” with Sager and went to school with his older brother, continued, “He [Sager] was just a great interview... he interviewed very very well and put forth a vision we can all fall in line with. He just seemed to strike all the right notes with this entire board.”

Solomon continued, “David's hiring will go a long way toward helping us get back to our duties as board members and just doing what boards do while Mr. Sager handles the day to day matters. I think we made a great choice... he's one of the good ones.”

Sager could not be reached for comment at press time.