Hempstead rejects audit of town building department

Hempstead Town Board members defeated a proposal to audit the town’s building department following criticisms of staffing shortages and delays in building permits after superstorm Sandy.

 Town Supervisor Laura Gillen had proposed a $330,000 contract for Manhattan firm Ernst & Young to review the building department’s operations  in response to property damage after superstorm Sandy. Many residents reported delays in getting approval to make repairs and were required to  raze homes that were purchased after the storm. 

“I don’t think anyone in this town can be proud for the way Sandy victims were forced to elevate their homes due to a lack of communication,” Gillen said Tuesday. “We need a fresh set of eyes. Anyone who votes no says our building department is fine. You can always do better.”

The Republican-majority board defeated Gillen’s proposal by a 5-2 vote, with Democratic senior Councilwoman Dorothy Goosby voting in favor of the audit.

State Sen. John Brooks (D-Seaford) has said that the state  would conduct an audit if the town failed to pass  the resolution. Brooks could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Town board members, including Goosby, released a five-point plan Tuesday on how to reform the building department, including adding staff and opening the department on weekends.

 “I would rather spend $300,000 to $600,000 to hire new planning examiners and open on weekends,” Councilman Bruce Blakeman said. “The building department is not perfect, but we have to listen to our residents. We need to listen to our residents and get someone in the planning departments with concrete solutions.”

Blakeman said the town should not spend money on a report that will recommend additional staffing. The town currently has 11  or 12 planning examiners to process about 10,000 applications a year.

Councilman Anthony D’Esposito said if the state is going to conduct an audit, the town should hold off on funding its own report.

Board members also recommended an internal ad-hoc audit and review team, including homeowners and contractors, to examine procedures.

Gillen said council members  had not offered any proposed changes for the past 18 months that the building department has been under review. She said this year’s budget also did not include additional hiring, which was scheduled to save $500,000 in attrition.

Representatives of the Long Island Builders Institute and homeowners advocated for the town to approve the building audit during Tuesday’s meeting.

“We have to make sure what happened to those Sandy victims won’t ever happen again in the Town of Hempstead,” Gillen said.

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.