Recruitment issues in focus at Suffolk County budget hearing
Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine speaks at an event in Central Islip on Oct. 1. Romaine released his yearly budget proposal last month. Credit: Barry Sloan
Several Suffolk County departments continue to face staffing shortfalls as low salaries for starting positions present a hurdle to recruitment and retention, according to department heads.
Those issues became a frequent focal point Tuesday as department heads addressed the Suffolk County Legislature during the first round of joint committee meetings to discuss the proposed $4.3 billion 2026 county budget.
County Executive Edward P. Romaine submitted the budget to the legislature on Sept. 19. The total represents about 5.2% increase from the current $4 billion spending plan.
The Department of Social Services is “actively recruiting all the time,” said Commissioner John Imhof, adding that “salaries are a concern we hear about.” The department has between 60 and 80 vacancies, ranging from Child Protective Services to its housing and finance departments. Imhof said the department can “still operate at full service” but “would like to fill more positions if possible.”
Overall, department heads at Tuesday’s meetings said the proposed 2026 budget provides adequate funding to maintain services.
Kenneth Knappe, deputy commissioner of finance for DSS, said it’s natural to have some vacancies given the overall size of the department. The department’s 2026 budget totals $726.6 million, a 2.5% increase compared to the 2025 adopted budget of $709 million.
He said salaries and limited work-from-home opportunities pose challenges to hiring.
“I would say in my 29-plus years in the county, this is one of the few times where we have the money to fill positions,” Knappe said in an interview, adding that the county executive and legislature are both in support of providing necessary funding.
“We just don’t have the pool to grab from,” he said.
Earlier this year, Romaine announced the county was beginning a salary study of hundreds of positions to “ensure competitive wages and benefits for our workforce.”
The county is currently negotiating a new contract with Suffolk Association of Municipal Employees, which represents more than 6,000 active and retired employees in areas like DSS.
Terry Maccarrone, the union president, said he couldn’t comment on salaries while negotiations are ongoing.
Charles Bartha, commissioner of the Department of Public Works, said entry-level salaries present a problem for some “blue-collar positions” leading to “pretty high turnover.”
He said the department has filled positions such as mechanical engineers and architects and cited a successful recruitment effort. In professional positions that require a four-year degree in areas like sanitation, highway and building departments, there about 15 vacancies, the commissioner said.
Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon), the minority leader, suggested “a larger campaign effort to hire folks from different colleges.”
County Attorney Christopher Clayton said his department is “making due quite well with what we have” and said while ideally they hope to have every position budgeted filled, “we know that’s not possible.”
He cited difficulty filling paralegal positions, as an example, and said the department “exhausted” a civil service list.
“It’s a function of the market, I think,” he said.
The county’s Office of Aging has nine vacancies out of 61 positions, Director Holly Rhodes-Teague said. She added the department is waiting for the start of next year to begin filling some of those vacancies.
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Suffolk Legislature’s general meeting in Riverhead. The legislature will hold three additional joint committee meetings Thursday to discuss the budget with more department heads.
The legislature’s Budget Review Office is expected to release a budget analysis Friday and present its report during a working group meeting at 9 a.m. Monday.
Joe Werkmeister joined Newsday in 2022 and covers Suffolk County government and politics. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University and previously worked as the editor of two North Fork community newspapers.
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