APRIL 18, 2006, FARMINGVILLE, NY – In his State of the Town address Tuesday marking his first 100 days in office, Brookhaven Town Supervisor Brian X. Foley said that Brookhaven Town is well on its way to a new era of honest, open, responsive government after decades of incompetence and corruption under Republican one-party rule.
“We must remember that great transformations do not take place overnight,” said Supervisor Foley. “As I’ve said many times, 45 years of corruption and mismanagement cannot be turned around in 45 days, much less 100. But rest assured, the days of one-party government by a corrupt party machine are over.
“Make no mistake, there will be resistance to change, both within and outside of government, there always is. At every step on the road to reform, the ousted remnants of the political machine are determined to prevent our progress. Exiled and no longer able to abuse power, they have retreated to their party headquarters. As we clean up their mess, they stew on the sidelines, issuing edicts of absurdity.
“They opposed our efforts to use transparency and accountability to repair the town budget’s pension line, which they raided to the tune of over two million dollars. Just as the machine fought our efforts to create council districts and thereby empower our communities, they are making the same mistake again -- seeking to stop us from undertaking a real effort to keep the public involved and informed. And when we kept our promise to move with deliberate speed to bring in a clean slate of managers determined to overhaul town government, they lobbed partisan grenades of griping.
“Those of us who sit on this town council must never forget that in November the voters spoke clearly – calling for us to come to together to reject the discredited machine and undertake a nonpartisan effort to transform this government. And by working together to represent our council districts rather than our partisan interests, we can fulfill that promise.
“As I’ve said before, I do not consider the issues of town government, from cleaning our parks to paving our roads, to be partisan issues. So let’s come together and do things the right way.”
"The Foley Team is fulfilling its promise to reform town government," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy. "We look forward to working together with the Supervisor in the future for the benefit of our mutual constituents."
"Supervisor Foley's first 100 days at the helm of Brookhaven Town can be measured by the campaign promises he has kept," said Congressman Tim Bishop. "The
Supervisor promised greater transparency of the governmental process and he has delivered. Brian pledged to restore the public's faith in the elected Town officials and he has kept that promise. Brian vowed to deliver to the people of Brookhaven a more efficient and user-friendly Town Hall and residents have seen many great changes in that effort. We have all witnessed, and can expect, many more positive changes to New York State's largest township and I look forward to working with Supervisor Brian Foley well into the future."
"Brian Foley has hit the ground running and is more than fulfilling the promise, hope and need that our town has for meaningful reform," said State Assemblyman Steven Engelbright.
“The elected and administrative leadership of the Town of Brookhaven has undergone a remarkable change under Supervisor Brian Foley,” said Morton Weber of Morton Weber and Associate, a law firm specializing in land use and planning. “The administration has been professional, responsive, and courteous and those practices have been communicated to other town departments and agencies as being the proper way to conduct town business. The business community appreciates the work of Supervisor Foley in changing the culture of the Town of Brookhaven.”
Among the initiatives the Foley administration will undertake in the next few months are new financial procedures to manage capital projects, saving taxpayers from the wildly over budget and behind schedule fiascos that have plagued capital projects for years. Supervisor Foley will start to put in place the new Service Stat management program, which will insure vastly improved service and accountability in town departments.
The Supervisor said he’ll be getting “off the hill” and reaching out to communities. He’ll be talking to town employees to get ideas from the frontline workers who are interacting with residents every day. The town will establish an office of community relations in the Public Information Office.
“Together we are on a journey – a collective mission to reclaim the good name of our town,” said Supervisor Foley. “As your Town Supervisor, 100 days ago I took an oath to clean up this government and save your tax dollars. And after the first 100 days of this historic effort, the state of our town is undergoing a long-overdue transformation.
“I have kept my promise to you – we’re starting to reclaim the good name of our town by ushering in a culture of competence. We’re putting people before politics in order to replace the culture of corruption. We’ve literally raised the standards for leadership in this town and we’re proving that it’s about what you know, not who you know.
“It will take a truly community oriented effort to create the Brookhaven we all moved here for – a place where our beaches and shores are clean and secure, where our parks are a place for our children to play, where our communities have a sense of place, and where we can live, work, and keep our families together.
“After decades of stagnation, frustration, and corruption, the state of our town is starting to transform. The state of our town is improving. We are reclaiming the good name of Brookhaven. Join us in that inspired effort.”
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Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677
www.Brookhaven.org