The Huntington Town Board has scheduled a May 5 public hearing on sweeping revisions to the Town’s Code of Ethics, expanding who must file a disclosure statement and what must be disclosed, as well as including a comprehensive code of conduct for Town employees.
The proposed new code also adds new training requirements for Town employees and increases the required number of public meetings the Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure must hold to four from the current one. The new code also provides for increased transparency by calling for creation of a plain-language booklet explaining the ethics code and by requiring prominent placement and utilization of the Town’s website.
“These changes have been in the works for many months, clarifying portions of the previous code and adding new features to further reassure our residents that Huntington conducts its government according to the highest ethical standards,” Supervisor Frank P. Petrone said. “I especially thank Councilwoman Tracey Edwards, Dean Howard Glickstein and Ethics Board counsel Steven Leventhal for their hard work in putting together this new code.”
“This new code incorporates recent ethics changes enacted by the state, state court decisions, language from the New York State Comptroller’s model code of ethics, suggestions from ethics experts and, most importantly, public input at the recent hearing the Ethics Board conducted,” said Councilwoman Edwards, whom Supervisor Petrone asked to begin reviewing possible code changes last year. “The new code also enhances the education requirements, so Town officials and employees clearly know what conduct is allowed and what is not. This is a code we can be proud of, and I hope it will be well received.”
The new version divides the Ethics Code into three sections: a clear and comprehensive Code of Conduct; expanded disclosure requirements; and powers and duties of the Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure. It expands the universe of people required to file financial disclosures to include policy makers and requires all public officials to disclose specific client information.
The proposed code will be available for inspection at the Town Clerk’s office and can be viewed on the Town’s website, www.huntingtonny.gov. Additionally, Councilwoman Edwards will be meeting with some members of the public who at the March Ethics Board hearing made specific recommendations to the code. It is expected that the Town Board will vote on the changes at the June 9 meeting.
In a related action at the April 21 meeting, the Town Board appointed Edward William Billia of Huntington Station and reappointed Ralph Crafa of Northport to the Board of Ethics and Financial Disclosure. One vacancy remains on the five-member board.
In other action, the Town Board:
-- authorized a contract with Unitech Service Group for remediation of hazardous material at the former Huntington Armory that will allow its transformation into the James D. Conte Community Center. The contract, for an amount not to exceed $436,570, will include asbestos removal; removal and recycling of universal waste including fluorescent light tubes and mercury wall thermostats; removal and recycling of PSB-containing lighting ballasts; and installing temporary waterproofing. In a related matter, the Town Board formally approved the conditions the Town must meet under the terms of a $1.5 million state grant for the conversion of the armory into the community center.
-- established a volunteer consortium of industry professionals to examine and provide recommendations to the Town Board to advance the rehabilitation of deteriorated abandoned homes.
-- set a May 5 public hearing to consider adoption of the Huntington Station Gateway Plan, an environmental impact document covering three sites under consideration for redevelopment by the Town’s master developer for Huntington Station, Renaissance Downtowns.
-- authorized the Supervisor to apply for a $100,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority to study the feasibility of establishing a Huntington Community microgrid, which could include Town Hall, the Village Green Senior Center, the Huntington Sewer District Wastewater Treatment Plant and possibly Huntington Hospital and the YMCA. Creating the community microgrid would be aimed at making it easier to restore electricity more quickly to facilities that provide essential services when there are widespread power outages.
-- approved a change in the covenants on the property at Jericho Turnpike and West Hills Road to allow construction of a fitness center on the site of the former Tom Rice Buick.
-- authorized a pilot program to establish pricing specials at the Crab Meadow and Dix Hills Golf Courses. Integrity Golf, which operates and manages the two Town-owned courses, has recommended the program as a way to increase the number of rounds played during historically low demand times during the day and week.
-- appointed Rhonda Shepardson, deputy director of the Department of Human Services, as the Town’s Title VI Civil Rights Coordinator to assist the Town in ensuring compliance with provisions of various civil rights laws, regulations and executive orders.
-- accepted a $5,000 grant from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America to establish a Pitch Pipe Music Hour at the Town’s Adult Day Care Center. This is a program that supports an individual’s joy and self-esteem through exploration of the production of music by learning how to organize the 12 tones.