Game Of Topsy-Turvy Played At Town Hall

The Republican majority on the East Hampton Town Board is unified behind a plan to reorganize Town Hall - even to telling the Town Supervisor that she must move to other - smaller - offices.

On Tuesday, during the board's second session to review Democratic Supervisor Cathy Lester's proposed $29.5 million budget for 1997, the three Republicans, Councilwoman Nancy McCaffrey and Councilmen Len Bernard and Thomas Knobel, described plans to redistribute the work of certain town departments, consolidating some departments and telling others to share resources.

While the changes are not expected to reduce spending, the members of the majority said they would make Town Hall "more efficient." Councilman Knobel said another budget meeting would be needed to assess the effects of the proposals. In addition, Councilman Bernard presented ways to reduce the $5.1 million garbage district budget. That is covered separately.

Major Changes

The plan calls for:

Creating a Town Natural Resources Division, combining the department of that name plus the town shellfish hatchery and sanitation inspector;

Giving the Department of Parks and Recreation responsibility for street lighting, and the maintenance of town buildings and grounds, which are now separate departments, and for public works, which is controlled by the Highway Superintendent acting as Commissioner of Public Works;

Moving the two code enforcement officers, one of whom is yet to be hired, into the office of and under the jurisdiction of the town attorney;

Eliminating the position of recycling information officer, and,

Hiring a full-time personnel director.

Fight Promised

It fell to Councilman Knobel to inform Supervisor Lester that her three-room suite, which is at the front of the building, was to become headquarters for a consolidated legal department. The space will be given to the town attorney, Robert Savage, his two deputies, John Jilnicki and Richard Whalen, two secretaries, and the two enforcement officers.

Incredulous, Supervisor Lester asked him to repeat what he said. Twice.

"Surely this is for political purposes, to embarrass me," she said, calling the idea "ludicrous." She later said that she had "no intention of going anywhere without a fight," and noted that town supervisors had occupied the offices at the eastern entrance of Town Hall since the building was built 30 years ago. Her predecessor, Tony Bullock, expanded the Supervisor's suite by a third when he took over an adjacent space several years ago.

New Lawyer For Z.B.A.

The plan to put all the town's lawyers and its enforcement officers in one place triggered a general and broader discussion of the town's handling of legal affairs.

Mr. Whalen, who is counsel to the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals, would be relieved of the latter, the Republicans explained, and instead have time to defend the town in some lawsuits. They added $20,000 to the department's budget so an outside lawyer could be retained for the Zoning Board and subtracted the salary of one secretary.

Mr. Whalen's secretary would go with him from the planning and zoning offices at 300 Pantigo Place, just east of Town Hall, and also would work for the code enforcement officers. The merger would eliminate, Mr. Knobel said, the need for two law libraries, one computer, two connections to on-line services, and one secretary, whose desk has been empty for a few months anyway. He added that the three lawyers "support the idea."

Supervisor Lester agreed there was "a need to better apportion the duties of the town attorneys." She said that should mean shifting Mr. Jilnicki to become attorney to the Zoning Board. She suggested later that Mr. Savage, a Republican appointee, also should "pitch in."

Ms. Lester, a Democrat, told the opposition Tuesday that the town had had a good win rate using outside attorneys to defend it against lawsuits and that the practice should not change. It had been that way since 1988, she said, when the Town Board opted "for someone who knows the Town Code and will protect it."

The Republicans, however, repeated their frequent assertion that the town had for years been spending too much on outside lawyers and Councilman Bernard said having Mr. Whalen litigate just a few cases would more than make up for the $20,000 retainer for outside Z.B.A. counsel. The town spent nearly $200,000 through August of this year for attorneys not on the staff and the Supervisor budgeted $175,000 for next year.

Physical Switch

On the switch of physical space between the Supervisor and the attorneys, Mr. Knobel said the present attorneys' space - little more than three small cubicles in a modular building at the rear of Town Hall - would be "more than enough" room for the Supervisor's staff.

He also said the Supervisor had more space than needed - three offices for a secretary, administrative assistant, part-time personnel officer, and herself - and Mr. Savage's staff had too little.

If Ms. Lester refuses to vacate, he added, "then she's putting her own personal comfort ahead of the town, and I don't know what to make of that."

"This is clearly for intimidation purposes, like most of their proposals. People don't expect to come to Town Hall and find the Supervisor in some tiny back room," she said Tuesday night.

Buzzwords

Throughout the afternoon, "eco nomy of scale" was a buzz phrase. In that vein was a proposal to put the data-processing office, made up of two employees who also work for the Assessors, under the senior assessor's supervision.

"Shared resources" was the other often repeated phrase, particularly with regard to forming a Natural Resources Division.

The new division would be in the charge of Larry Penny, natural resources director, and it would place him in a supervisory position over two men who now act independently, James Cavanagh and John Aldred, both of whom had originally worked under Mr. Penny.

Differences

Technically, Mr. Cavanagh is Mr. Penny's deputy but they have not worked with each other for years. Mr. Cavanagh was put in charge of enforcing natural resources and sanitation permits and regulations after registering complaints about Mr. Penny. In that role, which had previously been Mr. Penny's, Mr. Cavanagh works closely with Planning Department and legal and enforcement personnel. A vocal Republican, he would have been assigned full-time to the town attorney's office, if Supervisor Lester's budget had been approved.

Mr. Knobel said he asked both Mr. Penny and Mr. Cavanagh and "they both think it's a good idea," he said. Mr. Cavanagh's line was busy all Tuesday night after being reached for a comment and saying he needed a few minutes to attend to his daughter. He was not at work on Wednesday. Mr. Penny, however, said he thought the plan would work.

"We need each other," he said.

Hatched A Surprise

The Republicans did not consult John Aldred, the hatchery director, before demoting him from a department head to Mr. Penny's deputy. He learned about it Tuesday night from The Star, saying he was "profoundly disappointed."

The next day, Mr. Aldred said he also had "a lot of questions about the future operation of the hatchery - the budget, our agreement with the state, our grants, our employees, decisions about production." He said Councilman Knobel had dredged up an old grievance and that former and current Trustees have coveted control of the hatchery for years. Most recently they have disagreed about an oyster mariculture training project run by Mr. Aldred.

"The people who work here now, myself included but not myself exclusively, have designed, created, and operated the hatchery. And, we have been trying to satisfy the concern of the powers-that-be relating to aquaculture," Mr. Aldred said.

While he praised Mr. Penny for "certain visions," he indicated the natural resources director was unable to "produce."

"Gestapo Manifesto"

Mr. Penny said yesterday that the Trustees needed a water laboratory, and that one could be established at the hatchery or its grow-out facility on Three Mile Harbor. Otherwise, he said, he did not see "any great re-organization there." He added that he expected to bring in money for the hatchery by writing grant proposals.

Supervisor Lester, however, had harsher words for the Natural Resources Division proposal.

"This is about the Gestapo Manifesto. The Republicans and the Trustees want control of the hatchery, just like they want control of the harbormasters. They don't dare abolish the Planning Board so they're going through the back door," she contended.

Interesting Times

The manifesto, which was first drafted by Mr. Knobel and then codified by the Trustees' attorney, John Courtney, attempts to give some of the Z.B.A.'s authority to the Trustees and would put the harbormasters and bay constables under their supervision.

Mr. Knobel, however, insisted the new division was conceived to place all natural resources programs - shellfish propagation, habitat assessment and protection, environmental protection, wildlife management, and more - under one person's supervision. "In-field presence, protection, and enhancement," he called it.

Supervisor Lester's fellow Democrat, Councilman Peter Hammerle, appeared as angry and frustrated as she during Tuesday's meeting. Mr. Knobel, on the other hand, said he was pleased with the outcome.

"So what did you think? Was it interesting?" he asked Paul Fiondella, a friend who has recently been appointed to the Town Citizens Computer Advisory Committee. Mr. Fiondella, who ran unsuccessfully for Town Board two years ago, said it was.