LI planning council seeks executive director, program manager

The Long Island Regional Planning Council sent out notices Wednesday seeking to hire an executive director for the group, as well as a program manager who would help develop a plan to address nitrogen contamination of the Island’s waterways.

Chairman John D. Cameron said $500,000 in operating funds for the council from Nassau and Suffolk counties now is assured, so the council decided to publicize the availability of the executive director position.

The council has been without an executive director since February 2015, when Cara Longworth resigned to become Long Island regional director of the Empire State Development Corp.

The council also is seeking to hire a program manager for the Long Island Nitrogen Action Plan, which the council is undertaking in conjunction with the state Department of Environmental Conservation. The council has a nearly $2.8 million state grant for the project, and Cameron said the grant funds will be used to finance the part-time program manager position.

Those interested in the positions should respond by March 31.

The council wants to hire people with extensive knowledge of Long Island and its planning issues, governments and institutions, the chairman said. It sent an email blast advertising the posts to about 1,400 council contacts.

“We need people who are following what’s going on Long Island,” Cameron said. “For the executive director, we’re looking for a senior person, preferably someone who knows how things work on Long Island.”

Salary information was not disclosed. Cameron said salaries would be “commensurate with education and experience.”

A council committee will review applications, interview candidates and make a recommendation to the full council. The chairman said he hopes the positions are filled by sometime in April.

For the program manager position, Cameron said he would like to get the DEC’s endorsement of the council’s choice.

To date, the council has received $125,000 in funding from Suffolk’s Economic Development Corp. and expects the agency to provide another $125,000 in July, he said. The Suffolk EDC confirmed its financial support.

“The $250,000 from Nassau we expect in the next few weeks,” Cameron said.

Nassau County officials previously said they had included $250,000 in operating funds to the council in the county’s approved budget.

The council — which has operated as a regional planning body in some form for more than 40 years — had been struggling financially following the counties’ financial difficulties.

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie