Bellone expands office space

While Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone's inaugural mantra was "do more with less," he and his chief deputy have expanded their office space in the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge.

Bellone paid the county $2,300 by personal check for all materials, including a toilet and sink, something no previous executive has done, said Deputy County Executive Jon Schneider, who said parks employees are doing the work without overtime, with 270 work hours involved. By a legislative budget analyst's estimate, the average laborer makes $36,000 a year, putting the labor costs at $5,246 excluding benefits.

Bellone didn't alter his 12th-floor corner office. Schneider said the 180-foot office that former chief Deputy County Executive Ed Dumas used was enlarged into a 544-square-foot "planning room." A small bathroom Schneider called a staff lavatory was added -- next to restrooms that executive personnel have used for years. Top Bellone deputy Regina Calcaterra's office nearly doubled using vacant space. No new county furniture was bought.

Schneider said Bellone "understands the very tough budget crunch . . . We're dead serious about saving money. We're just trying to make a most efficient use of space." Using staff overseen by Bellone's wife, deputy parks Commissioner Tracey Bellone, poses no conflict, he said: "We just used park people because this is their slow season."

Legis. Thomas Barraga (R-West Islip), suggested: "Mr. Bellone should at least make it a pay toilet and make it his first contribution toward solving the county's fiscal problems."

-- Rick Brand