Islip Town Board approves $121M budget

The Islip Town Board passed its 2012 budget along party lines Friday -- though the two council members who will have to govern by it voted against the spending plan.

The $121 million operating budget, together with a $17.3 million capital budget, passed 3-2, on the votes of Democrats Phil Nolan, the supervisor, and councilmen John Edwards and Gene Parrington. Republicans Steve Flotteron and Trish Bergin Weichbrodt, whose party regained control of the board in the Nov. 8 elections, opposed it.

Nolan trails his likely GOP successor Tom Croci, with absentee votes to be counted; Edwards is retiring, and his seat and Parrington's were won by Anthony Senft, a Conservative, and John Cochrane, a Republican.

Friday's special meeting was convened after the budget was unresolved amid bickering at Tuesday's town board meeting.

In a written response to an invitation from Nolan to attend the special meeting, the councilmen-elect said they had received legal advice that it would be "improper" for them to participate.

Interviewed, Cochrane said: "We have been elected but not sworn in. He [Nolan] is the supervisor until January, and it's the obligation and responsibility of this town board to pass this budget -- we will have to live by it."

Speaking after the vote, Flotteron said he was glad the budget contained a zero tax increase, but he could not vote for it, he said, because he was not certain about some of the numbers. "In this bad economy, maybe we could cut more," he said.

Bergin said she was concerned about a decision to defer an $8 million pension payment from December 2012 into February 2013, though it complies with state requirements.

"I'm very happy it's a no tax increase, but it's the lack of accountability that bothers me about this budget," she said.

Nolan accused Bergin and Flotteron of abrogating their responsibilities in light of a 2-1/2-hour budget work session the board held in September with presentations from each town department head and a public hearing Nov. 10.

"It's plain they're positioning so they can blame my administration next year," he said. "They raise specious, nonsensical arguments and yet they fail to offer even one amendment to change anything in this budget throughout the entire process -- not one. And still they vote no . . . a sham."