Board majority will restore two jobs cut in supervisor’s budget

Today’s the deadline mandated by state law by which the town board must adopt a budget for 2013.

If the board fails to act, the preliminary budget on which the board held a public hearing Nov. 7 — the budget the supervisor presented Sept. 28 — will become the final budget for the next fiscal year.

As stated by Councilman George Gabrielsen during the budget hearing, three board members — Gabrielsen, Councilwoman Jodi Giglio and Councilman James Wooten — have been working to figure out how to make cuts to the supervisor’s budget and, at the same time restore, two positions eliminated in his tentative spending plan.

Gabrielsen presented a spreadsheet at Thursday’s work session, indicating about $189,000 in “savings” realized since the supervisor presented his tentative budget, resulting from changes that have occurred since his budget was released. These include adjustments in the tax receiver’s office, certain grant revenues and payroll adjustments resulting from personnel changes. In addition, the board members proposed $96,637 in cuts. After considerable discussion Thursday, there was agreement on $41,739 in cuts. The amount of money saved by organic changes in the budget since Sept. 28 was agreed by board members to be $178,449.

Supervisor Sean Walter advocates leaving the unspent funds resulting from cuts and savings in the town’s reserve fund.

“There’s no savings. Everything we did here does not constitute a savings to anybody because the police department is going to eat up everything we did today,” Walter said Thursday, referring to the town’s obligation to buy back accrued time and the pending contract negotiations with the police union.

But Gabrielsen and Giglio want to restore the personnel officer position, which Walter had eliminated in his budget, resulting in an expense of about $105,000. They are also seeking to restore the youth bureau director’s position — but effective as of July 1, 2013 — resulting in an expense of just under $39,0000.

Wooten voiced agreement with putting the youth bureau director back as of mid-year next year, but reserved judgment Thursday on whether he supported restoring the personnel officer.

This morning, Wooten said he spent the last two days looking into it and has concluded a town of Riverhead’s size should indeed have a personnel officer.

“I think it’s definitely a vital position,” Wooten said. “I would hate to see the baby thrown out with the bath water.”

The councilman referred to what he termed “personality conflicts” involving the current personnel director, but declined further comment.

At Thursday’s meeting, Councilman John Dunleavy said that conflict was his “only reservation” about restoring the position. “We have two department heads butting heads,” he said, referring to personnel director Meg Ferris and financial administrator William Rothaar.

“I asked people to calm down. They didn’t,” Dunleavy said. “I agree I think we need a personnel director, but we need somebody that doesn’t butt heads,” he said.

There will be three separate resolutions pertaining to employees offered for a vote at tonight’s board meeting: one pertaining to the youth bureau director, one pertaining to the personnel officer, and a third pertaining to a part-time building inspector position.

Giglio and Gabrielsen want to cut the part-time building inspector and use the funds to put toward a new senior building inspector position. The new position would be funded by the part-timer’s salary and the salary of the current building permit coordinator, who is expected to retire; that position would also be eliminated upon her retirement. It was not clear whether there is a third vote to eliminate the part-time building inspector’s position. Wooten said this morning he would not support it and Dunleavy could not be reached for comment.

Walter said this morning he would vote no on any resolution restoring the personnel officer position and would also vote no on a “an omnibus resolution” amending the tentative budget as discussed at Thursday’s work session.

An adiditonal budget resolution will adjust the ambulance district’s budget, removing anticipated medical billing revenue of $100,000 and adding the $100,000 to the district’s tax levy. The district is moving forward with medical billing, but it is too soon to project when billing revenues will begin coming in and how much they will be for the year, Walter said. The ambulance district budget will remain the same as it was in 2012.

Last year the supervisor’s budget became the final budget without a vote by the board. In 2010, the board held numerous budget meetings but could not muster three votes to approve any of the resolutions amending the tentative budget at a special meeting called for that purpose on Nov. 19, 2010.

Check back tomorrow for a video recording of tonight’s town board meeting.

Photo captions: (Top)  Town financial administrator William Rothaar (left) discusses the proposed 2013 budget with town board members at Thursday’s work session;  (Bottom) Riverhead’s personnel officer Meg Ferris listens Thursday as the town board discusses whether to eliminate her position, during a town board work session on the proposed 2013 budget.

RiverheadLOCAL photos by Denise Civiletti