Freeport administration quickly raises their salaries

One of the first official actions of the newly sworn-in Freeport administration under Mayor Andrew Hardwick was a vote to approve a raise for themselves. Hardwick had campaigned on a platform of belt-tightening and rebuked the previous administration for the level of spending on employee salaries and benefits. Last week, he said his administration was weighing a spending freeze due to the recession and the looming village debt. "We really need to tighten our belt," he said then. Minutes after taking the oath of office before a packed audience at Village Hall on Monday, deputy mayor Robert Kennedy made a motion to boost annual pay for the mayor, four trustees and village justice. After newly elected trustee Carmen Pineyro seconded the motion, the board voted 4 to 1 to approve the raises. Hardwick, Pineyro and Kennedy, registered Democrats who ran under the Change Freeport Party, last month defeated former three-term mayor Bill Glacken and incumbent trustees Renaire Frierson-Davis and Don Miller, registered Republicans who ran on the Home Rule Party ticket. In a statement issued Wednesday, officials justified the raises by saying officials plan to work longer hours than is customary. "The mayor and two new trustees have mapped out an intensive work schedule for themselves with plans to tackle Freeport's various challenges," village spokeswoman Patricia Murphy said. Hardwick will earn $125,000, an increase of $1,740, or 1.4 percent. He previously earned $87,780 as a deputy parks commissioner for Nassau County, a spokeswoman for County Executive Thomas Suozzi said. Trustees increased their salaries by 28 percent - from $19,500 to $25,000 - while Village Justice Stephen Drummond will get a 25 percent raise, to $75,000. The raises will go into effect immediately, Murphy said. Trustee Bill White said he voted against the raise because salaries for those offices were set in the 2009-2010 budget. Approval followed a public hearing. "The budget took effect March 1 and I just didn't think it was appropriate to change that now," he said. White said he learned of the salary-increase resolution about 20 minutes before the meeting began. Trustee Jorge Martinez voted for the increases. Staff writer Celeste Hadrick contributed to this story.