Suffolk lawmakers OK firing measure

Suffolk legislators Tuesday gave themselves broad authority to remove any department head or commissioner, a move County Executive Steve Levy will veto.

Department heads and commissioners have long served at the pleasure of the county executive, but attorneys for the county legislature and Levy have argued for months about the delineation of authority between the two governmental bodies.

Under the measure, which passed with a vote of 11-6, legislators would have to show cause to remove an official and a firing would require 10 of 18 votes. If a county executive vetoed such a move, it would take 12 of 18 votes to override a veto.

County Attorney Christine Malafi, who would be subject to the new legislation should it become law, said last night she did not believe the move was legal. The county executive has sole authority to appoint and remove department heads under county law, she said.

The vote came after lawmakers elected not to vote on a measure to fire Police Commissioner Richard Dormer.

The bill's sponsor, Legis. Jon Cooper (D-Lloyd Harbor), said "12 or 13" lawmakers have told him in private conversation they believe Dormer should be removed but would not vote to do so because they didn't believe the legislature has authority to do so.

Levy spokesman Mark Smith said the bill is "legally flawed" because it does not specify for what reasons legislators can remove department heads and commissioners. He said Levy will veto the bill.

Lawmakers also voted 10-8 to require Levy to enact the plan for housing homeless sex offenders by Oct. 15.

In other matters, Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook) delayed until Aug. 17 a vote to hire a special counsel to investigate actions of the Suffolk County Ethics Commission. The commission has approved Levy's filing of New York State's financial disclosure form rather than the county's more extensive form.

Lawmakers also overrode a series of Levy vetoes. Legislators voted to enact bills barring felons from taking county title work, allowing the Suffolk County Ethics Commission to hire its own independent counsel rather than relying on the county attorney's office, and requiring the police department to inform legislators before transferring large numbers of personnel between units.

Levy, who has made the sale of the John J. Foley Skilled Nursing Facility a priority in helping him balance the county budget, suffered a speed bump last night when Lindsay - over opposition from Levy aide Ben Zwirn - declined to close the public hearing on the proposed sale.

That means the bill permitting the sale now cannot go before a vote Aug. 17 unless Levy can persuade 12 legislators to agree to fast-track it.