New ethics rules urged for Islip officials

Islip Supervisor Phil Nolan is proposing new ethics rules designed to eliminate potential conflicts of interest for town officials who challenge their property tax assessments.

The proposal is in response to the appearance of a homeowner, who did not identify himself as the spouse of a council member, before the town's assessment review board. Members of that board are appointed by the town council.

The proposed changes to the town's ethics code would require applicants seeking reduced assessments to sign a new disclosure form listing any relatives who work for the town. The new language would also codify the town's current protocol of sending the applications of town officials to State Supreme Court, where appeals are heard.

The town board is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to hold a public hearing on the issue. The board meeting is at 2 p.m. at Town Hall.

Newsday reported last week that Randall Weichbrodt, who is married to Republican Councilwoman Trish Bergin Weichbrodt, spoke at a grievance hearing in May, requesting lower assessments on the couple's home in East Islip and on their Fire Island beach house, which was under construction but had been evaluated as a finished home.

The Weichbrodts obtained a $25,000 reduction on the beach house assessment - saving them $1,924 on their 2010/11 tax bill - after the town tax assessor made a correction to the roll.

The councilwoman, widely known as Trish Bergin from her work as a television news anchor, was listed on the applications as Patricia Weichbrodt.

State law requires applicants appearing before town boards to disclose their relationship to any town employee. While Islip's planning and zoning boards require applicants to submit such a disclosure form, the assessment review board until now has not.

Nolan said his proposed changes are intended to ensure that the town's assessment process is "beyond reproach."

"I want to make sure this will not occur again," he said. "We need to be certain that people who hold influence over the assessment review board, their applications cannot be dealt with by those people."

No other sitting town board member in the past three decades has grieved an assessment, Town Attorney Alicia O'Connor said.

Bergin Weichbrodt, who has said the board should have recognized her husband, called the proposed disclosure form "a good idea, if every other board has that." "Whatever they want to do to make the process transparent is fine with me," she said.