Huntington Town official can get paid

The Huntington Town Board has cleared the way for the position of deputy highway superintendent to be paid, three months after the town highway superintendent appointed someone to fill the job.

In December the board voted to move salaries for the highway deputy job and 18 others -- all vacated by employees taking the state's early retirement incentive -- into the town contingency budget as of Jan. 1.

That fund contains money set aside from the regular budget that can't be restored without a board vote. For workers in those positions to get paid, the board has to put the money back in the regular budget.

Asharoken Village Mayor Pat Irving was appointed to the position of deputy highway superintendent Dec. 29 by Highway Superintendent William Naughton.

She's been showing up for work ever since but has not been paid.

Naughton says in a complaint in State Supreme Court filed in February over the town's refusal to pay Irving that he appointed her on Dec. 29 and therefore the position was not vacant as of Jan. 1.

Town spokesman A.J. Carter said that while Naughton appointed Irving before Jan. 1, he failed to put in the paperwork getting the money out of contingency.

"Mr. Naughton had not followed procedures requesting that the funding be removed from contingency," Carter said.

He said Naughton put in the paperwork after he filed the lawsuit.

The board voted March 22 to make the money available as of March 28.

Funding of $76,458, the prorated portion of the job's annual $103,000 annual salary, was also approved.

Irving, Naughton and Peter A. Bee, the Mineola attorney representing Naughton in the suit, all declined to comment.

Town Clerk Jo-Ann Raia said she administered the oath of office to Irving on March 28.

However, even if the disagreement over the payroll issue is resolved, the town attorney has already claimed that Irving can't serve in that position because of a conflict of interest.

The town's counsel contacted Bee and told him based on opinions issued by the state attorney general, there is a conflict of interest with Irving serving as both deputy highway superintendent and as mayor of Asharoken.

The attorney cited a contract between the town and Asharoken Village to remove snow from village streets, creating the possibility of a conflict, Carter said, if the same person held both positions.