North Hempstead Supervisor-elect Jen DeSena said Wednesday that a town council member had informed her that the board intends to make changes to the supervisor’s office.
In a news release, DeSena, who defeated Town Clerk Wayne Wink, a Democrat, in November’s supervisor election, called for “transparency and accountability” to North Hempstead taxpayers and said she wants insight as to why five budgeted positions in the supervisor’s office reportedly are to be eliminated.
“The Board adopted a 2022 Budget on October 28th, and taxpayers have a right to know why these individuals plan to slash the Supervisor’s Budget from nine positions to four,” DeSena said in the news release. “The Board should also explain why they plan to substantially pad the Budget of the Majority Town Board.”
DeSena is a Democrat who ran on the Republican line, and the Town Board has a Democratic majority.
The supervisor’s office includes the town historian and director of business and tourism, whose budgets are scheduled to increase by a combined $300,000 next year, according to the town budget. The supervisor’s office also includes people in the financial, intermunicipal coordination, procurement and legislative affairs sectors.
DeSena touted Supervisor Judi Bosworth’s commitment to keeping politics out of financial matters when the 2022 budget was adopted in late October, but said if the board slashes resources to the supervisor’s office after the election, it will show “politics has been allowed to corrupt the governmental process.” She also said a potential plan to transfer one employee making more than $150,000 to the majority Town Board payroll would be “dishonest.”
“Supervisor Bosworth was proud to announce that her Budget was adopted before Election Day, properly signaling that politics has no place in our government’s Budget,” DeSena said. “For the Board to plan changes after the election to the Supervisor’s Budget and that of the Majority Town Board Members is wrong and the taxpayers deserve better.”
DeSena referred to the Town of Hempstead maintaining the resources of the supervisor’s office for a new supervisor in 2017 as an example of a board “doing the right thing” for residents. She urged North Hempstead residents to voice their opinions during the Town Board’s virtual meeting at 7 p.m. on Thursday.
Councilwoman Veronica Lurvey said in a statement to Blank Slate Media that she and the rest of the board did not understand the basis of DeSena’s statements.
“There have been absolutely no decisions regarding staffing levels or budget modifications,” Lurvey said. “We look forward to working collaboratively with the supervisor-elect, and we hope that she will talk to us directly rather than using the media to deliver partisan political statements. We have much to do together on behalf of our residents. We call upon the supervisor-elect not to bring the dysfunction we see every day in Washington into our Town Hall.”
