Huntington Town board votes out appointed staff members in favor of civil service jobs
The Huntington Town Board voted to eliminate eight appointed positions in the town council office to potentially save money and to better serve residents, Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said.
Smyth plans to create a 311-call center at town hall staffed by civil service workers in place of the eliminated positions, he said. The laid off, who will be out of a job as of Feb. 21, can apply for the civil service positions that will cover the call center, Smyth said.
“We, the town board, eliminated, eight political patronage jobs to get away from the crony system and replace it with civil service positions which have specific job descriptions and prerequisites for employment,” Smyth said.
The board on Tuesday night approved the resolution that included eliminating the jobs, 4 to 1 with Town Board Member Brooke Lupinacci voting no.
The eliminated jobs are legislative aide that had an annual salary of $72,050 and the legislative secretary position that paid $49,322. Each of the four town board members had one of each to staff their office.
The new positions are for the citizens advocate III, with a salary of $73,172, and citizens advocate I, with a salary of $52,880.
It’s not clear when the call center will be up and running and how many positions it will need to operate. It’s also not clear if the council members will retain any staff.
Town spokeswoman Chris Geed said before the COVID-19 pandemic the town had a call center but it was reopened after the pandemic. The new call center will have a centralized location, she said, with a dedicated staff that has phones and computer access.
The board voted on two late starter resolutions approving the department of information technology to spend $140,000 for equipment, software and training to support the new call center, and spending $40,000 for the general services department to build the call center on the second floor of town hall.
Those measures were approved 4 to 1, with Lupinacci abstaining on both votes.
Lupinacci, a Republican, has been at odds with her board colleagues, all Republicans, over the Melville Overlay District that was approved in December by the town board.
For months she was an outspoken opponent of the plan to allow the creation of a walkable downtown in the hamlet, saying there was no real plan or details.
Before the vote and after the meeting Tuesday, Lupinacci said she did not know about the job elimination resolution until 5 p.m. Tuesday evening, an hour before the start of the town board meeting.
She said she supports the call center, she said, but she believes she was not notified of the impending layoffs on purpose.
“It’s pure retaliation for me being an independent thinker and voting independently on certain matters,” she said. “I was the only board member who didn’t know about it; it was only my staff who was emotional and concerned about their jobs.”
Smyth said Lupinacci was updated on the resolution at the same time as the other board members late in the afternoon.
“The curious thing is Brooke Lupinacci did not personally reach out to anyone when she learned about this,” he said. “Brooke has never reached out personally to myself or any board member as far as I know, about this matter nor any other matter that has come before the town over the last several months.”
The Huntington Town Board voted to eliminate eight appointed positions in the town council office to potentially save money and to better serve residents, Town Supervisor Ed Smyth said.
Smyth plans to create a 311-call center at town hall staffed by civil service workers in place of the eliminated positions, he said. The laid off, who will be out of a job as of Feb. 21, can apply for the civil service positions that will cover the call center, Smyth said.
“We, the town board, eliminated, eight political patronage jobs to get away from the crony system and replace it with civil service positions which have specific job descriptions and prerequisites for employment,” Smyth said.
The board on Tuesday night approved the resolution that included eliminating the jobs, 4 to 1 with Town Board Member Brooke Lupinacci voting no.
The eliminated jobs are legislative aide that had an annual salary of $72,050 and the legislative secretary position that paid $49,322. Each of the four town board members had one of each to staff their office.
The new positions are for the citizens advocate III, with a salary of $73,172, and citizens advocate I, with a salary of $52,880.
It’s not clear when the call center will be up and running and how many positions it will need to operate. It’s also not clear if the council members will retain any staff.
Town spokeswoman Chris Geed said before the COVID-19 pandemic the town had a call center but it was reopened after the pandemic. The new call center will have a centralized location, she said, with a dedicated staff that has phones and computer access.
The board voted on two late starter resolutions approving the department of information technology to spend $140,000 for equipment, software and training to support the new call center, and spending $40,000 for the general services department to build the call center on the second floor of town hall.
Those measures were approved 4 to 1, with Lupinacci abstaining on both votes.
Lupinacci, a Republican, has been at odds with her board colleagues, all Republicans, over the Melville Overlay District that was approved in December by the town board.
For months she was an outspoken opponent of the plan to allow the creation of a walkable downtown in the hamlet, saying there was no real plan or details.
Before the vote and after the meeting Tuesday, Lupinacci said she did not know about the job elimination resolution until 5 p.m. Tuesday evening, an hour before the start of the town board meeting.
She said she supports the call center, she said, but she believes she was not notified of the impending layoffs on purpose.
“It’s pure retaliation for me being an independent thinker and voting independently on certain matters,” she said. “I was the only board member who didn’t know about it; it was only my staff who was emotional and concerned about their jobs.”
Smyth said Lupinacci was updated on the resolution at the same time as the other board members late in the afternoon.
“The curious thing is Brooke Lupinacci did not personally reach out to anyone when she learned about this,” he said. “Brooke has never reached out personally to myself or any board member as far as I know, about this matter nor any other matter that has come before the town over the last several months.”
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