It's the changing of the guard in White Plains as the City Council voted to terminate the Department of Public Works commissioner.

Mayor Thomas Roach says terminating DPW Commissioner Bud Nicoletti wasn't an easy decision. Nicoletti worked for the city for 30 years and spent 23 years as the commissioner.

News 12 learned that Nicoletti was asked to step down but was not ready. That left the mayor with no choice but to bring it to the City Council for a vote.

Those in attendance at the meeting Wednesday night applauded Nicolleti's tenure. Common Council member Milagros Lecouna voted against the mayor. She says the mayor ordered a costly study eight months ago to review the DPW, and she felt as a taxpayer that it was not necessary. She says she saw it as an excuse to eventually fire somebody.

Mayor Roach says Nicoletti has done a lot for the city, but that a new perspective is needed as White Plains' centennial approaches in 2016.