Enlists Aid in Making Government Open, Honest, Responsive

JUNE 19, 2006, FARMINGVILLE, NY – Supervisor Brian X. Foley has been visiting town departments for either breakfast or lunch to have frank, open discussions with the front-line workers who are the key players in making Brookhaven Town government the open, honest and responsive government the Supervisor envisions.

 “I promised to give the people of the Town of Brookhaven a responsive, consumer-friendly government and the employees who deal with the public daily play a key part in my fulfilling that promise,” said Supervisor Foley. “I vowed to replace the Culture of Corruption in Brookhaven Town with a Culture of Competence, and one of my most welcome surprises in undertaking that task was the dedication and desire to do good work exhibited by the vast majority of town workers.

 “I have been visiting town workers for these informal meetings to hear their concerns, ideas and hopes for the future. I want to give every worker a chance to express his or her thoughts openly, freely and directly to the Town Supervisor. I have already received a great deal of good advice from the frontline workers in my meetings with personnel from the Law, Parks, Traffic Safety and Finance departments, and I expect to get many more great suggestions as I continue these meetings.”

The initial meeting occurred on May 24 with personnel in the town Law Department over pizza in the law conference room. The meetings continued on June 1 with a barbecue for Parks Department employees at the historic Longwood Estate, where Parks Department Commissioner Brian Pratt donned his chef hat while cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the crowd. On June 5, Supervisor Foley met with Traffic Safety personnel over pizza and soda, and on June 13, Personnel Department employees enjoyed bagels, juice and coffee at a breakfast session.

The next meeting will be with employees in the Department of Aviation and Transportation.
"The employees appreciated the positive gesture in bringing them together with upper management, providing them with an avenue to present an overview of their individual jobs and made them feel like he was one of them,” said Meg Shutka, President of the White Collar Union of the CSEA. “The employees feel that meetings such as these every once in a while are a good way to keep the lines of communication open between the departments and the Supervisor's office."  

“I made a promise to take town government down off Independence Hill and out directly to the people,” said Supervisor Foley. I’m doing that through my Mobile Town Hall meetings, and through my meetings every week with civic groups all over town.

 “But another part of reaching out is to communicate more closely with the employees of the Town of Brookhaven. Empowering town workers started when I shook the hand of every town worker at Town Hall the day I took office. Then I set up suggestion boxes all over Town Hall.

“It is critically important that I get out of my office and into the various departments throughout Town Hall. I want to know what is going on day-to-day from the people who are doing the actual work. Who knows better how to do that work better?”

"Supervisor Foley takes a keen interest in each of the departments' needs and how we can do our job better,” said Parks Commissioner Pratt after the Supervisor’s visit. “He listens with a sense of urgency. He takes suggestions seriously and the employees appreciate their voice finally being heard."

Office of the Supervisor
One Independence Hill • Farmingville • NY 11738 • Phone (631) 451-6955 • Fax (631) 451-6677
www.Brookhaven.org