Town Board Pay Raise Hearing - Brings Out the Crowd

The Riverhead Town Board held it's regular meeting on Wednesday, November 8 and despite the early afternoon meeting schedule (2 pm), the Town Hall meeting room was packed with interested observers. The agenda indicated a full schedule of discussion items but the subject of the pay raise for the Board and other Town employees was placed right up front.

Quite a number of residents immediately lined up at the podium to have their comments heard. Many of the speakers objected to the proposed raise of $10,000 to Board members, a $19,000 increase for the Supervisor as well as raises for other employees. One person commented that it didn't seem ethical for a sitting Board to vote to raise it's own salary. Not even Congress does that. Others felt that the Board could not support an increase without showing equal revenues. The probable tax increase next year when the landfill cost kicks in is an ominous negative factor as well.

In fairness, others did come forward and endorse the pay raise. There were some awkward moments when several Town employees came forward and encouraged the salary increase while suggesting that the Town should increase their salaries as well.

The Supervisor finally stopped the public comments and adjourned the public hearing until November 15.

Pulte Homes Deal at EPCAL Getting Weak.

Pulte Homes has now advised the Board that it will have to downgrade their EPCAL proposal by reducing the anticipated acreage purchase while reducing the offer to just $70 million dollars instead of the original $90 million. Apparently Pulte was unable to find a hotel group willing to participate in the hotel construction part of their proposal.

In Other News: A Central Islip judge dismissed the suit by Northeast Holdings regarding termination of their Calverton runway authority by the Riverhead Town.......... Former Town employee Dave Cullen, in a letter to the News-Review seeks to clarify his role in landfill decisions (and names names) while doing so....... and where is Jay Oliver, host of the morning radio program (Dawn Patrol) on WRIV? Meanwhile, Bruce Tria doing double duty at the station by handling his own show plus the morning broadcast.