Recap of January 10, 2024, Inc. Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees Work Session

Recap of January 10, 2024, Inc. Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees Work Session

Highlights:

Board of Trustee (BOT) Wednesday meeting schedule now in effect
Ethics counsel addresses BOT’s questions ahead of Jan. 31 vote on Ethics Code Update; public comment period remains open until Jan. 31
Building & Planning Department encourages voluntary code compliance
Department Head reports enlighten board; bi-monthly meetings encourage collaboration
Administration brings new focus on tech security; will migrate from “.com” to “.gov”
Mayor, BOT and Conservancy board representatives clarify relationship and discuss project prioritization

BOT Kicks Off 2024 with New Wednesday Meeting Schedule

The BOT held its first Work Session of the new year, on Wednesday, January 10, in the second-floor board room of the Village Hall. This meeting was conducted as a true work session, in which Village Clerk Sylvia Pirillo and Treasurer Stephen Gaffga briefed the BOT and responded to questions from them, on upcoming resolutions that would be voted on during the Jan. 31 Public Meeting. It was also the first session to fall under the new meetings schedule. Reminder: All BOT Work Sessions and Public Meetings are now held on the second and final Wednesdays of each month, respectively.

Focus on Ethics

Ethics counsel Steven Leventhal addressed Trustee questions ahead of the January 31 vote on the replacement to Chapter 41 of the Village Code (Ethics, Code of). Questions centered on the process of appointing members to a five-member Ethics Board. Leventhal explained that while the Mayor makes the nominations from a list of qualified applicants, the Trustees will all have an opportunity to vet selected candidates and vote on appointments. When asked whether engaging an ethics attorney to advise the Ethics Board was necessary, Leventhal explained that board decisions were often legally nuanced and cautioned against having a board without independent legal counsel.
Reminder: The Public Comment period on the Ethics Code revisions will remain open until January 31. Anyone with questions or comments can write to the Village Clerk, spirillo@portjeff.com.

Building & Planning Department Encourages Voluntary Code Compliance

In an effort to bring all commercial properties into compliance with the Village Code, the Building and Planning Department (B&P) has drafted a letter that will be sent to identified business/property owners requesting them to “lead by example” and demonstrate “voluntary compliance” with this undertaking. The letter reads, in part: “If you are aware of an aspect of your property or operation that is not in accordance with the Village Code, please correct the situation and/or submit a permit application.” B&P director Andrew Freleng emphasized that the initiative was not punitive, just an “earnest endeavor” to bring all buildings into objective compliance with the building and zoning codes of the Village. The Village Code can be found at: https://ecode360.com/PO0346

Better Together: Department Heads Share Reports and Meet Regularly

At Mayor Sheprow’s request, Department Heads are now submitting monthly reports highlighting their department’s recent activities. “We thought this would be a great way for the residents to see exactly what departments are working on, on their behalf, to keep the Village operating and moving forward,” explained Sheprow. Calling the reports “eye-opening,” the Mayor relayed how appreciative she was of how much each department accomplishes. Additionally, department head meetings are now taking place every other Monday. According to Sheprow, these sessions have inspired “robust conversations” that have already yielded new collaborations and a productive sharing of services and solutions between departments.

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer Gaffga continues his quest to ensure that the Village’s various accounts reside within their proper Funds. He told the Board that his current efforts to transfer three operating accounts from the Trust Fund to the General Fund, where they belong, would result in more accurate accounting going forward.

Security First

Clerk Pirillo put forth an add-on resolution to the agenda, to accept Island Tech Services’ proposal for the provision and installation of disaster-recovery hardware and the migration of all staff email addresses from “.com” to “.gov.” Stressing the need for enhanced cyber security for all the Village’s servers and email records, the Clerk also informed the Board that the Village would be switching from Gmail to MS Office, adding that all these change were essential and long overdue.

Setting Priorities for Village Projects
Mayor Sheprow invited Conservancy President Lisa Perry to discuss the Conservancy’s role as a fundraising partner for the Village. The Mayor took this opportunity to clarify both the relationship between the two entities and the fact that any services or improvements donated by the Conservancy become the sole property of the Village. Using the Conservancy’s plan to create a band shell at Harbor Front Park, as an example, the Mayor suggested the Village might benefit more from the Conservancy’s help with projects already underway, like the renovation of the Tooker House. To that end, she recommended that a process be put in place by which the priorities of each body might be aligned in the best interests of the Village.

To view the January 10, 2024, BOT Meeting in its entirety, visit the Port Jefferson YouTube channel.

The next Board of Trustees meeting will be a Public Meeting, with a period for Public Comment, on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at 6PM in the second-floor courtroom in Village Hall. It will be live streamed on the Village YouTube channel.

Editor’s note: For more information, contact spirillo@portjeff.com.