Town board abolishes personnel department; two council members call it retribution against ‘whistle-blower’

In a split vote Tuesday night, the Riverhead Town Board abolished the personnel department it created in 2010, when all five members of the board supported making the personnel office its own separate department. Until that time, the personnel office had been part of the town’s accounting department.

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio characterized Tuesday night’s move as retribution against personnel director Margaret Ferris “for being a whistleblower.”

Before casting her vote against a resolution rescinding the 2010 measure, Giglio said, “I can’t support demoting or penalizing an employee for bringing to light injustices in our system.”

Councilman George Gabrielsen also opposed the measure. He said afterward Ferris “being a whistleblower is the only reason the department is being abolished.”

“It diminishes the whole integrity of town government structure that was set up for a reason,” Gabrielsen said. “This is all about her, not about the position and it’s wrong.”

Giglio said the action taken to punish Ferris, who she said “blew the whistle” on the town’s financial administrator, William Rothaar in the spring of 2011. At that time, Ferris came forward to the town board about Rothaar using the town’s fax machine for personal business, Giglio said.

The town board launched an investigation into the alleged actions, hiring its outside labor counsel in April 2011 to conduct what’s known as a “Weingarten interview.” A Weingarten interview is a meeting at which an employee is asked to answer questions about his behavior which might result in disciplinary proceedings. No disciplinary action was ever taken against Rothaar as a result, Giglio said.

Ever since then, Ferris has been “a target,” according to Giglio.

That fall, Supervisor Sean Walter eliminated Ferris’ position in the 2012 tentative budget he presented to the town board. It was one of three positions eliminated in the supervisor’s spending plan. The board voted 4-1, with Walter casting the lone dissenting vote, to reinstate Ferris’ position.

This year, Giglio said, Ferris came forward with information about Rothaar authorizing payment of his own accrued vacation time after the supervisor reportedly told department heads such payments would be subject to 25 percent withholding beginning in October. Rothaar took his payout before the deadline, according to the councilwoman, while other department heads were denied the opportunity. Ferris brought that to light and is being punished for it, Giglio said.

The councilwoman said the supervisor spoke to the board in executive session last week about taking action against Ferris. Walter said he wanted to bring disciplinary proceedings against her for improperly accessing confidential information about an employee but, according to Giglio, that could not be done because has personnel director, she has the right to access those files.

“He said it would take too long and would be too expensive, so we should just demote her and move her out of there instead,” Giglio said.

Walter denies the accusations.

“As with so many things, the councilwoman is 100 percent inaccurate,” Walter said in an interview yesterday. “No staff member has cashed in vacation time in any nefarious manner.”

Walter said several town departments are going to be restructured, including sanitation and the municipal garage — which are overseen by a longtime employee who is retiring.

The personnel department has a staff of one full-time employee, Ferris, and half of another employee’s time. “Having a separate department for one and a half people just doesn’t make sense,” Walter said. “A lot of what they do requires legal analysis, so having her work under the town attorney makes sense.” Moving the personnel officer back into town hall — it is currently located in Town Hall West on Pulaski Street — also makes the office more accessible to employees, he said.

“Day to day, she will report to [deputy town attorney] Dan McCormick, who I understand she gets along with very well. I think it’s going to be an excellent fit,” the supervisor said.

Walter added that it is “totally inappropriate” for a town board member to speak to the press about a personnel issue or to discuss what transpired in an executive session.

Councilman James Wooten, who, along with Walter and Councilman John Dunleavy voted Tuesday to abolish the personnel department, said he believes the restructuring will be beneficial for all concerned.

“It was a department of one-and-a-half,” Wooten said. “It was almost tongue in cheek to make it a department of its own. What’s the point?

“Being in town hall will be a better environment for Meg, with more support services here. She works with the town attorney a lot. She’ll have better access to employees and they will benefit from that too.”

Wooten said the move was not retribution. “I don’t buy it and I’m not a big Rothaar fan necessarily. But they certainly don’t seem to get along. This will be a friendlier environment for her and ultimately it will make for a better personnel office,” he said.

Top photo caption:  Riverhead Town personnel officer Margaret Ferris at the town board work session this morning with, left, parks and recreation superintendent Raymond Coyne and Councilman James Wooten.  (Photo: Denise Civiletti)