Bellone wants to hire from Nassau

New Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone wants to roll back the county's three decade-old residency requirement for 53 top county jobs so he can also recruit residents from Nassau County.

Bellone will seek emergency approval Tuesday to amend the 1979 county law imposing the residency requirement on most county government jobs, after disclosing plans to lawmakers in caucuses.

"We'll be looking to hire Suffolk County people," said Jon Schneider, deputy county executive. "But there are a small number of skilled positions where only a handful of people can do the job . . . and we've asked for some flexibility to find the best people -- whether they live in Nassau or Suffolk."

Schneider said the law would affect management positions, including most jobs in the county executive's office, commissioners and their deputies. However, he added that only about a dozen jobs are to be filled in the short term and that he could not estimate how many would be from Nassau.

Nassau has a residency rule for nonunion workers.

Legis. DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville), budget committee chair, said Bellone and aides first wanted the change to cover all county jobs, "but there was some reluctance in the caucus, so they limited it to management positions." He believes the Democratic caucus will support Bellone's revised plan with the votes needed for passage. Democrats hold a 12-6 legislative majority.

"The jury is still out on that one," said Legis. John Kennedy (R-Nesconset), minority leader. "Some of us are inclined to help, but we would feel much more comfortable going case-by-case."

Under the original law, the only exemptions were for county police, which is governed by state law. Lawmakers later added exemptions for 32 hard-to-fill job titles such as medical examiner and pediatrician.

The existing law also allows the county executive to seek a one-year residency waiver to allow people to move to Suffolk. The county's five-member Classification and Salary Appeals Board also can grant permanent exemptions based on hardship.

Schneider said the existing waiver process creates uncertainties that could hurt recruitment.

In all, Bellone will present a dozen emergency resolutions Tuesday, including ones to recreate and staff the economic development department and create a project management team in his office. Bellone also will ask lawmakers to restore four of the 12 civilian public relations jobs in the police department that lawmakers axed in the 2012 budget. Schneider said the jobs will be funded by taking $400,000 from police overtime.