APRIL 4, 2006, FARMINGVILLE, NY –Thanks to the efforts of Brookhaven Supervisor Brian X. Foley’s Insurance Working Group, Councilman Kevin McCarrick and the town’s new insurance firm, the town will save another $850,000 in its insurance costs this year, over and above the $500,000 it saved by going out to bid on the insurance contract for the first time.
Also Tuesday night, the board was expected to act to expand the Public Information Office, to approve the final pieces paving the way for the revitalization of the Middle Country Road corridor, and to try to clean up the Mastic Pool project mess.
Insurance Savings of $850,000
The ability to package insurance coverage, negotiate better terms and coverage and a clearer understanding of potential losses and how to cover them led to the huge savings in Brookhaven Town’s insurance costs.
“My administration is doing business in an entirely new way in the Town of Brookhaven and the taxpayers of the town continue to reap the benefits of open, responsive and smart government,” said Supervisor Foley. “Opening up the insurance process not only saved us a half million dollars in fees compared to what the town paid Thomas M. Neppell and Sons, Inc. and Edwards and Company last year, our new firm has helped us save even more money in the negotiations with our carriers.
“And the town will save even more money next year on its insurance as we continue to repair the damage done by four decades of insurance coverage handed out like candy to politically connected firms via no-bid contracts.”
All insurance contracts were finalized April 1, allowing the town to determine exactly how much money has been saved in both fees and premiums.
“I must say I feel vindicated,” said Councilman Steve Fiore-Rosenfeld, the Town Board representative on the Insurance Working Group. “In my two years on the board, I abstained from votes on insurance, because while I knew the town had to have insurance, it appeared very likely our taxpayers were getting the short end of the stick. These new insurance cost figures prove that to be true. We have better coverage, with an enormous savings in both fees and premiums, totaling somewhere in the range of $1,350,000 compared to what the town paid last year.”
Councilman McCarrick, who was insurance liaison for the Town Board from 2004 to 2006, hailed the big savings for Brookhaven taxpayers under the new insurance contract. He pointed out that in July of 2004 he offered a resolution creating an insurance and risk manager for the town, and that he was instrumental in getting a PricewaterhouseCoopers study of the town’s insurance approved in 2005. That report was received by the Town Board last summer.
“In 90 days, my administration changed the way Brookhaven Town has done its insurance business for 45 years and in the process saved well over a million dollars for our taxpayers,” said Supervisor Foley. “That’s good government at work and I would like to thank the entire Town Board for its unanimous support of my insurance initiative.”
Getting the Word Out
In his continuing effort to open up Brookhaven Town government and make Town Hall more responsive to community concerns, the Foley Team will seek passage of a resolution during Tuesday night's Town Board meeting establishing the position of Community Relations Director in the town’s Public Information Office.
Brookhaven Town has close to 500,000 residents and yet employs one solitary public information officer charged with keeping taxpayers informed of their government’s operations. In fact, the budget for the Public Information Office was surprisingly slashed in the November adopted budget by 35%, from $748,120 in fiscal year 2006 to $482,675 this year.
Supervisor Foley and the majority of the Town Board are committed to not only informing the public of the services offered by Brookhaven Town, but to also becoming more community focused. The Community Relations Director will enable Brookhaven Town Government to take the groundbreaking step of undertaking a comprehensive effort to listen to community concerns and deliver on the promise of responsive government.
Currently, the Public Information Department has one full-time staffer, Public Information Officer Michael Pitcher, and a part-time secretary. Supervisor Foley said with the office so woefully understaffed, it is simply impossible for the Public Information Office to help the press and the public learn about all that Brookhaven Town has to offer.
“The days of hiding on the hill and doing business far from the public’s view are over,” said Supervisor Foley. “The public has a right to know what their government is doing. We intend to keep our promise to the taxpayers--we’re listening to the community and making sure Town Hall is responsive. We were elected to empower Brookhaven’s communities to believe again, to participate again, and to give them a voice in their government again.”
The addition of the Community Relations Director position will result in no budget increase, with funding for the position coming from existing appropriations.
Mastic Pool Fiscal Mess
The Mastic Pool mess is a prime example of the failure of the capital program process that has been utilized in the past in Brookhaven Town. What began as an $800,000 project has ballooned into a $6.3 million boondoggle due to poor planning, no clear administrative responsibility and a lack of fiscal oversight.
The board is expected to transfer $950,000 in funds allocated for the Rose Caracappa Senior Center project to the Mastic Pool account. Additionally, the board is expected to approve the issuance of $2,000,000 in bonds to pay for the next round of expected cost overruns for the pool project.
The board is also expected to approve the issuance of $950,000 in bonds for the Rose Caracappa Senior Center project to replace the funds transferred to bankroll the Mastic Pool. The funding switch will not in any way delay the Caracappa project.
New Future for Middle Country Road
Several resolutions regarding the rezoning of the Middle Country Road corridor are expected to be passed Tuesday night, clearing the way for the development of pedestrian friendly downtown areas along that roadway, and also greatly improving safety along one of the state’s most dangerous road.
Councilwoman Connie Kepert has spearheaded the Middle Country Road Corridor project and she sees a bright future for the communities along that roadway once the new legislation is passed.
“The Middle Country Road Land Use Plan represents an effort to change the way development occurs in central Brookhaven,” said Councilwoman Kepert. “For years, development meant the loss of cherished open spaces, the building of flat roofed strip stores, and unsafe and congested roadways.
“This new plan represents an effort to transform communities characterized by strip commercial areas, and big box stores separated from the street by seas of asphalt. It is a reaction to an overburdened and dangerous arterial, a lack of public spaces, and the separation of those elements, which together create communities.
Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677
www.Brookhaven.org