Islip Town chief takes heat, seeks patience

After a drubbing from a chamber of commerce leader over his firing of storied Islip planner Gene Murphy, Supervisor Tom Croci asked for patience Thursday as his team grapples with plugging what he called "deep and significant" budget holes.

Speaking in a public session toward the end of Croci's first town board meeting, Donna Periconi, president of the Bay Shore Chamber of Commerce, took the new administration to task for firing the lauded planner, one of more than 20 employees terminated in recent days.

"There's nothing this man of 35 years' distinguished service doesn't know about the Town of Islip," she said. "Most of you haven't worked with Gene Murphy for decades as I have -- you're too young!"

Periconi, 67, a registered Republican, said she was seriously concerned about the new board's decision-making abilities and questioned where it got its advice. She asked the board to consider reinstating Murphy, the former town planning commissioner who had been kept on as a $30,000 part-timer by the former administration.

Croci responded that Murphy's legacy and expertise would "resonate" in Islip via Murphy's "protege," planning Commissioner Dave Genaway.

The only other dismissal in the Islip planning department is Deputy Commissioner Chris Costigan, who earned $80,000, to be replaced -- possibly at a higher, yet-to-be-determined salary, said Croci -- by Rich Zapolski, a civil engineer who has worked in the private sector on land development projects and site planning. Croci said overall payroll would drop once "consolidation" of part-time and other jobs occurs.

Zapolski, 43, a Republican who lives in Bayport, attended the same high school as his new boss and was taught there by Croci's parents.

Croci told his first meeting since being elected that his administration faces an economic crisis in 2013 "far in excess of anything we could have imagined." He suggested the town will have a $26 million shortfall, $18 million of which was reserve funds used by the previous administration, but which Croci wants to replace this year.

A fundamentally new approach is needed to address the situation, he said, asking residents and employees for patience. In an interview, he said: "The board and I will be looking at every option," but declined to say whether that would include layoffs or tax hikes. His team campaigned on cutting taxes.

Former Supervisor Phil Nolan -- whose administration delivered a zero-tax increase budget for this year -- said Croci was "choking on his campaign rhetoric." Nolan said he asked Croci and the incoming town board for input or amendments to the budget after Election Day. "Not a single change was suggested. I was prepared to govern with this budget; Mr. Croci campaigned on a promise of lower taxes. It's time for him to make the tough decisions that come with the job."