Greenburgh needs a full time Building Inspector and full time Commissioner of Public Works

Commissioner of Public Works should not also be paid to be Building Inspector

The Building Inspector and Commissioner of Public Works are high paying jobs that deserve full time attention. One person should not hold both positions and get paid for two jobs.

News & Town Board Reports (gblist)Posted on March 25, 2026

At the Greenburgh Town Board meeting tonight beginning at 7 PM the Board will vote to appoint Frank Morabito as Commissioner of Public Works -replacing Rich Fon who is retiring. Rich was an exceptional public servant who will be missed.

Frank is currently the Building Inspector and has served as Deputy Commissioner of Public Works. He is hard working, creative and smart.

I would be happy to vote for his appointment if he devotes full time to the job of Commissioner of Public Works—which is probably the most difficult job in town government. The Town Board and I disagree on this –they want him to get paid to be both the Building Inspector and Commissioner of Public Works (two salaries for two positions). I think he should pick one of the jobs.

The Deputy Building Inspector, Liz Gerrity, is also an excellent public servant. I would like to see her appointed as the first female Building Inspector—which she is very qualified to be appointed to. She has asked the Board to also give her two jobs—Deputy Town Attorney and Deputy Building Inspector.

The Greenburgh Building Department currently has only one full time inspector—years ago the department had six or seven. If the Building Inspector and Deputy take on other responsibilities the department will be very short staffed with only one other person doing all the inspections. It’s impossible. There are currently three vacancies in the Building Department—the vacancies have existed for a few years. Greenburgh has fewer inspectors than smaller communities –and a large territory to cover. I am very concerned. My office is reaching out to other Building Departments comparing staffing of other building departments with ours. I would be happy to share what I have with you. E mail me at pfeiner@greenburghny.com.

I am writing to the Ethics Board asking if there are potential conflicts. The Attorney’s office defends cases against the Building Department. Is there a potential conflict if the deputy building inspector is also deputy town attorney?

The Commissioner of Public Works (DPW) is typically responsible for town infrastructure—roads, drainage, construction projects, etc.

A Building Inspector, on the other hand, enforces codes and signs off on whether construction (including public works projects) meets legal standards. If one person holds both roles, they could end up:

Approving or inspecting their own projects

• Feeling pressure to overlook issues to keep projects moving
  That undermines independent oversight, which is the whole point of inspections..

Government systems are designed so that:

• One office builds or manages projects
• Another office checks compliance and safety

Combining them removes that safeguard, which can lead to mistakes—or worse, abuse.

Both jobs are full-time in most municipalities:

• DPW: budgeting, crews, infrastructure planning, emergencies (snow, flooding, water, highway,potholes, building maintenance, engineering,drainage)
• Building inspector: permits, inspections, code enforcement, complaints

Even the most capable appointees may struggle to do both well.

Your thoughts wanted: E mail townboard@greenburghny.com

PAUL FEINER
Greenburgh Town Supervisor