Huntington highway chief, town board members clash

Last year, Huntington Highway Superintendent William Naughton and town board members began squabbling over budgeting and hiring.

The beef goes on.

Hours before the board approved its 2011 operating and capital budgets Thursday night, Naughton released a statement saying the treatment of his department was "mean-spirited and wrongheaded" and urged the board to amend the operating budget before adoption.

"The highway office has been unconscionably deprived of the use of budgeted monies to properly maintain and improve roadways that benefit residents in neighborhoods and communities throughout our town," the statement said. "Huntington residents have been denied fair value for their hard-earned tax dollars."

Naughton said Friday that town officials illegally transferred funds from his department's budget to boost reserves to keep the town's bond rating up. He also complained that he has been prevented from filling vacant positions.

"The board just wants it like they want it," Naughton said. "I am not a department head, I'm an independently elected official. I'm allowed to do things without asking their advice."

Naughton, like town supervisor Frank P. Petrone and the majority of the board, is a Democrat.

Petrone said in a statement Friday that it is "sad that Mr. Naughton continues to ignore the reality of these difficult fiscal times and seeks a tax increase for his department instead of working on how to manage his department more efficiently." The $184.3-million operating budget passed Thursday holds the line on taxes.

Town officials said while the budget prevents Naughton and other departments from filling positions, outside contractors will fix roads using money saved from vacant positions - a long-term savings for taxpayers who won't have to cover employees' benefits. The capital budget calls for $3 million for road rehabilitation in 2011, up from $1.5 million this year.

"The budget approved last [Thursday] night actually increases funding for road repair in a way that is more fiscally responsible and better serves town residents," Petrone said.

Naughton said he does not mind contracting out for such things as paving, tree removal, tree planting and cutting grass, but he prefers to have staff for regular maintenance such as filling potholes and sweeping.

Town officials said any transfer of funds to reserves was legal.

In his statement, Petrone accused Naughton of not participating in the budget process by not meeting with board members and financial staff.

"That's absolutely not true," Naughton said. "Frank Petrone has not sat down with me to discuss a budget with me since he's been there. But I did participate with the deputy supervisor, the comptroller, and her deputy and mine. I don't know what he's talking about."

Last year, Naughton released a similar statement around budget time. He subsequently tried to hire workers, but the town sued to stop him because it had instituted a hiring freeze. The suit was eventually dropped.