Northport Village court closed temporarily after clerks quit over pay dispute, mayor says
Northport Village Justice Court, located on the Village Hall property on Main Street, is closed over a staffing shortage, officials said. Credit: Ed Betz
The Northport Village Court office is closed until further notice over a staffing shortage involving a pay dispute, village officials said, adding they are looking to fill two clerk positions.
Court clerk Tanya Karpf and deputy court clerk Dawn Belmonte, both 54, resigned after the village board did not immediately approve raises they both asked for, Mayor Donna Koch said.
Karpf resigned Jan. 31 and Belmonte on Nov. 1. The court office on Main Street has been closed since Feb. 1, Koch said, adding she does not know when it will reopen. The court was also closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The village court staff also includes two justices and a prosecutor. The court handles cases including domestic violence and DWI arrests. Since the court's closure one domestic violence case has been referred to district court in Central Islip, Koch said. Other defendants are being given appearance tickets for village court for March, Koch said. Village night court, usually held Monday nights except holidays, is also suspended.
In 2023, the court handled 100 criminal cases and 1,820 traffic violation cases, Koch said.
The village on Feb. 6 hired Tom Teresky as the new prosecutor after Robert Schalk resigned Jan. 29, citing professional obligations.
Teresky will be paid $750 a night.
Koch said she's begun interviewing candidates for the two open positions.
“I’m confident we’re going to get this done soon," she said.
Koch said in the fall, Village Court Justice Brian Trodden asked the village board to raise Karpf's and Belmonte's salaries.
The board considered increasing Belmonte’s $46,500 salary to bring her in line with two recent secretarial hires, at $50,000 annually, Koch said. She said she didn’t put the request into a resolution because it would not have had the votes to pass.
Karpf also asked for a $3,500 increase, which Koch said the board did not consider because her salary of $55,000 was already in line with what other village court clerks in Suffolk County are paid.
Trodden did not return calls for comment.
Karpf and Belmonte could not be reached for comment.
Karpf and Belmonte, who both worked full time, would have received 2.75% raises on March 1, Koch said. While the two women are not members of Local 342 Long Island Public Service Employees Union, the village uses its contract as a guideline.
Clerks process parking vehicle and traffic law tickets and payments, schedule court hearings and prepare court calendars.
Trustee Dave Weber said he would have supported pay raises if they were included in the village budget. Discussions on the budget are held between October and January and implemented in March.
"We certainly have the money in the budget to give those raises," Weber said.
Village trustees Joe Sabia and Ernest Pucillo said they would not have supported a resolution that gave only Belmonte an immediate raise. Trustee Megan Dolan said she favored giving immediate raises to both employees.
“Money is probably the most common reason somebody would leave a job," Dolan said. “We wish we weren’t in this position and that they didn't leave, but we will resolve this quickly.”
Cornell Bouse, president of the Suffolk County Bar Association, said he has defended clients in Northport Village court since 1990. The court's closure due to the personnel shortage underscores the value of court staff, he said.
"You could have all the judges in the world but you cannot run a court without capable staff," Bouse said.
The new court clerk will be paid $55,000 and the deputy court clerk $50,000, Koch said. The jobs come with state health insurance, retirement benefits, paid time off, and $4,100 stipend to attend night court.
