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Trustee freeze
Village Board pulls PJ purse strings in unanimous vote
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One month before the Port Jefferson Village Board tackles the 2010-11 budget process, the trustees have slapped a freeze on municipal spending. The embargo on expenses was precipitated by an invoice that raised eyebrows and ire among the village trustees when it was presented to the board during Monday's business session.
The warrant in question was in the amount of $746 for "hand sanitizer," submitted by Director of Parks and Recreation Ron Carlson. To the apparent surprise of all trustees, about a dozen wall dispensers for the antibacterial stuff had already been installed in washrooms at Village Hall and at the Village Center.
To prevent such surprises in the future, Mayor Margot Garant suggested instituting some form of "centralized ordering." Village Trustee Adrienne Kessel said she had also noticed the ordering of "many office supplies."
Village Trustee Carmine Dell Aquila reacted without equivocation: "Put 'em on a freeze." Village Trustee Leslea Snyder voiced agreement. A spending freeze "is a good idea," she said.
Carmine Dell Aquila then moved, Adrienne Kessel seconded and the board voted unanimously to require department heads to obtain prior approval from their board liaison before spending any money left in their current budgets.
The next warrant was in the amount of $286 for coffee at the golf pro shop. "I have to buy my own coffee," Garant said. "Hold that one," she and Dell Aquila both said.
Also held was a third warrant in the amount of $936 for patio plants, ferns and flowering plants in hanging baskets for the golf pro shop. The bill had a June 2009 date on it but had only been submitted the day of the business meeting, according to Village Treasurer Don Pearce.
The following day Village Clerk Bob Juliano explained the freeze would affect purchases over $100.
Carlson reacted with surprise upon hearing of the board's decision not to pay for the hand sanitizers. "I thought something like this would be encouraged," he told The Port Times Record Tuesday. The dispensers had been suggested to him by his custodial staff after visitors to the center had asked for hand sanitizer, Carlson said. He also had one installed in the department's offices on the second floor for staff to use because there are no bathrooms on that floor of the Village Center, the parks director said. "I can understand why it sounds like a lot of money," he said. But considering that the price includes a supply of refills in addition to the dispensers installed at possibly three locations in the village — Carlson thinks but is not certain that at least one was installed at the Highway Department — he said of the price tag, "It's not unreasonable."
Carlson said he uses the stuff himself and likes it. "I thought it would be a good idea," he said.
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