Brookhaven Notebook: Efficiency Team Saves Money, Ethics Board Changes

The Town of Brookhaven announced last week that its Efficiency and Revenue Team (E & R Team), has completed its yearlong effort to save taxpayer dollars, identifying budget savings of $2.5 million, according to the town.

Over the course of 2010, the E & R Team aggressively implemented initiatives to reduce the cost of government. Some of their successes include closing out the bonds from old capital projects, saving over $900,000 in 2010 and over $700,000 in 2011.

To help the town comply with Lesko’s debt management cap, Receiver of Taxes and Chair Louis Marcoccia and the E & R Team identified over $6 million in capital projects that were deferred or eliminated through a town board resolution.

 “In order to continue to run the Town like a business, foster accountability, and save taxpayer dollars, we need to increase our focus on improving the quality of services we deliver to our residents,” Supervisor Mark Lesko said in a statement. “I commend Lou Marcoccia for his valuable contributions as Chair of the Efficiency and Revenue Team and look forward to the next step in improving service delivery. I strongly believe the Quality Initiative program will move the Town’s operations closer to an efficient business model and allow us to deliver the highest quality of services possible.”

Quality of Life Task Force Strikes Again

The Town of Brookhaven Quality of Life Task Force responded to a compliant at 112 Billiards on Route 112 in Medford about the pool hall allegedly operating without necessary permits and certificates of occupancy.

The task force found that alcoholic beverages were being offered for sale. The lack of a required license was addressed with an appearance ticket from the Suffolk County Police and subsequent notification to New York State Liquor Authority, according to the town. Further investigation concluded that there were neither renovation permits nor a certificate of occupancy issued by the Building Department.

The Fire Marshal issued a Cease and Desist Order and Task Force Investigators and the Fire Marshal each issued six Appearance Tickets for violations including; no Building Permit, no Certificate of Occupancy, no Place of Assembly Permit, no Certificate of Compliance for permits issued by Fire Marshals, blocked egress and failure to maintain fire system equipment.

There were also three task force stories out of Bellport.

The property located at 520 Bourdois Avenue was an alleged “crack house” that was condemned and boarded and secured in January 2011. The entire property has been cleaned up and the Highway Department sent a street sweeper to clean up the roadway as well.

The property at 713 Davidson Avenue was abandoned with litter scattered throughout and it had a large boat hull in the front yard full of garbage. The home had been looted of its copper pipes and other metal. The property was previously boarded up by an unknown party, but was unsecured due to vandalism. The town building department will proceed to re-secure this property.

The 955 Walker Avenue property was previously the subject of a July 2010 Task Force case, where investigators found the property had no electric, heat, plumbing or running water, a hole in the roof, and dead animals inside and outside the house. They cleaned up 71,120 pounds of litter and debris on this property. This site was completely cleaned up and secured last year, but when the Task Force followed up it found that an unknown party had dumped a load of debris in the yard. The property is now clean again and the town will recoup the cost of clean-ups by charging the property owners.

Ethics Codes Garner New Sub-Section

Earlier this month, the town board voted unanimously to approve the adoption of an amendment to the Ethics Code by adding a new sub-section prohibiting elected Town Officials, Bingo Inspectors or anyone appointed to sit on Town boards from holding a position on any Town, County, State or National Executive Committee of any duly recognized Political Party.

“This resolution is the latest in a line of legislation that I have sponsored to take politics out of Town Hall,” Councilman Dan Panico said.  “It is unquestionable that democracy works best when people become actively involved in government; many chose to get involved in activism associated with political parties.  However, people must have faith in their elected and appointed officials to do what is right for all residents regardless of political affiliation.  Perception matters, and so does the appearance of propriety when decisions are handed down by the officials of Brookhaven Town.”

Town Eliminates Daily Kayak Fees

The town recently passed a resolution to eliminate the 2011 boat ramp kayak daily and seasonal fees. At a previous Town Board meeting the kayak fees were added as a new fee to the Parks, Recreational and Cultural Resource Fee Schedule for 2011.