Brookhaven pursuing new finance chief

Brookhaven has approached Southampton's comptroller for the position of finance commissioner.

Tamara Wright, who was recently reappointed to her Southampton position, has been in talks with the Brookhaven Town board about becoming the town's next finance chief, according to Brookhaven officials.

Wright said Brookhaven Supervisor Mark Lesko reached out to her around the time the Southampton Town board delayed its reappointment of her, though at the next meeting it unanimously voted in favor of her continuing as comptroller.

An offer has not been made to Wright, according to Lesko's deputy chief of staff, Stacey Epifane Sikes.

Brookhaven Councilman Dan Panico said board members met with Wright last week -- some for the first time -- and need more time before making the appointment. Wright, who makes $115,000, has served as Southampton's comptroller for three years.

Panico said the town's $260 million budget needs a deft handler.

"It's better to allow some time to pass to sort this out and possibly to interview other candidates. It's not a done deal," he said. "It's one of the most important jobs in the Town of Brookhaven, and shouldn't be made hastily." He added that she "certainly has a very good resume."

Panico said one red flag was a $650,000 federal tax lien imposed on Wright in 2009.

"That was a bit unnerving for myself and other council members," he said.

Wright said the lien was resolved in 2010 and the IRS had not updated its records yet. "I'm obviously trying to get definitive answers from the IRS on this," she said.

Brookhaven's previous finance commissioner, John O'Neill, resigned after Lesko pulled a resolution on Jan. 5 to reappoint him to the $127,500-a-year post.

Saying an evaluation of department heads is overdue, Lesko held up the reappointments of 24 commissioners and deputy commissioners pending meetings with town board members.

O'Neill took a $94,600-a-year competitive civil service job in the Nassau comptroller's office overseeing vendor claims.

The town will continue evaluating Wright for the job through the end of the month, according to Sikes.

Wright's reappointment in Southampton was delayed after Councilman James Malone voted to table it so that new board member Christine Scalera, and the rest of the board, could formally interview Wright. Wright said the delay was a "surprise," but said she was flattered that the board unanimously voted for her reappointment at the next meeting.