Town Board Files Lawsuit to Stop Unauthorized Hires, “Promotions” in Highway Dept.

From a press release by Town of Huntington Public Information Officer AJ Carter: The Huntington Town Board voted unanimously Wednesday, February 3 to authorize the filing of a lawsuit aimed at preventing Highway Superintendent William Naughton from ignoring longstanding Town hiring procedures implemented to ensure that spending remains within budgetary constraints.

On eight occasions in recent weeks, Superintendent Naughton attempted to add employees to the Highway Department payroll without seeking the necessary authorization from the Town Board. He also attempted to increase the salaries of 15 existing workers by saying they had been promoted, again without following required procedures for posting and for Town Board approval.

"In these difficult fiscal times, all government officials must practice prudent financial management to ensure that no taxpayer dollar is wasted," Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. "All other departments, including those headed by independently-elected officers, willingly follow these procedures. In refusing to do so, the Highway Superintendent is sending the message that he has little regard for the pocketbook of the average taxpayer. The Board cannot allow this reckless spending to occur."

Recognizing the factors that have caused Town revenues to decrease, the Town Board in November approved a 2010 budget that cut spending by more than $10.5 million from 2009, froze salaries of elected and appointed officials, eliminated nine full-time positions and provided for delaying the filling of 25 additional vacancies until the middle of the year.  As a result of those measures, the 2010 budget held the line on taxes, despite declining income mostly due to a drop in mortgage tax receipts.

The board also continued the hiring procedure implemented several years ago, placing funding appropriated for positions that become vacant in separate accounts called contingency accounts and releasing the money from those accounts only after Town Board approval. The Town has also been staggering its hiring to cope with the decreased revenues and to ensure that previously-enacted early retirement incentives are effective and result in savings.

 Superintendent Naughton has repeatedly resisted following the procedures requiring he justify his attempts to hire. He also has resisted requirements that openings be posted before jobs are filled.

 Earlier this year, Superintendent Naughton attempted to place eight employees on his payroll. He and the eight people were informed that their times slips could not be processed since their hiring was not approved. Superintendent Naughton subsequently attempted to process vouchers to pay the workers as independent contractors. That request was also denied.

Superintendent Naughton also attempted to increase the salaries of 15 workers whom he said had been promoted. However, he failed to post the jobs to which the workers had be "promoted" and he failed to request that the funding for those jobs be removed from the contingency account.  The request that those 15 workers be paid at the higher rate was also denied.

In its vote yesterday, the Board approved legal action to prevent Superintendent Naughton from any future attempts to either fill vacancies or hire independent contractors without prior board approval. The Board also voted to hire independent counsel to represent Superintendent Naughton. He will be given a list of four from which to choose; all have agreed to accept an hourly rate commensurate with what other outside counsel receive.

"It is unfortunate that the Town Board must take this action, but we have no choice," said Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who sponsored the resolutions.  "While all department heads believe all their hires are justified, the only way we will control town spending is by working together to make the triage-like decisions that will hold down taxes and best serve our residents."