Patchogue trustees approve organizational appointments, committee rosters, policies and meeting schedule

The Village of Patchogue Board of Trustees on April 7, 2025, approved the mayor—s slate of appointments to village committees and boards, adopted several administrative policies, and set the board—s regular meeting schedule for 2025 at its annual organizational meeting held at the Municipal Building.

Mayor (unnamed) opened the meeting and said, "What we're gonna do tonight is to add the appointments of all the village officials, what they're gonna be doing, and also approval of certain other items." The board followed with a series of largely routine motions that passed on voice votes.

Why it matters: the annual organizational meeting establishes the village—s leadership assignments, committee memberships and administrative rules for the year, including where village funds may be held, who represents the village for conferences, and the board—s regular meeting calendar.

Appointments and committees

Trustees approved the mayor—s appointments and a set of committee rosters as presented. Among items recorded in the meeting record were the reappointment or designation of John Rocco and Nicholas Fusillo as chairpersons of the planning board and the zoning board of appeals, respectively; planning board members Frank Ambrosio, Steve Fuco, and Brian T. Egan (one-year terms were noted); and named members for the Community Development Agency (CDA) board and other village committees.

The board also approved the roster for the Conservation Tree Committee, naming Paul Murphy as chair, Trustee Kevin Weeks as liaison, and members Laurie Devlin, Susan Lino, John Bojack, Brendan Clinch and Betsy Smith (landscape designer) as listed in the meeting record.

Administrative policies, training and banks

Trustees adopted the village—s investment policy for 2025 and listed several financial institutions in the policy text as depositories for village funds. The transcript lists Dime Bank, Bank of America, Chase and "Capital 1 Bank"; one entry in the transcript is unclear (recorded as "MBA class as depart depositories"). The article notes that the transcript contains that unclear entry; the record does not specify further details for that item.

The board authorized specific officers and employees to attend professional conferences during the coming year, including the Conference of Mayors annual meeting (mayor, trustees, village clerk and treasurer), New York State Magistrates and Court Clerks Association conference (village justice and court clerks), New York State Planning Federation conference (planning and zoning board members, planning board coordinator and Trustee Susan Brakeman), Eastern States Building Officials School and related building-official training (building inspector), and the annual public works school (highway superintendent or foreman).

Fees, handbook, newspapers and mileage

Trustees adopted the village fee schedule for 2025 as presented and approved the building- and plumbing-fees schedule for implementation in April 2025. The board moved to adopt the village handbook pending updates to incorporate 2025 New York State mandates and final approval by the village attorney.

The Advance was designated the village—s official weekly newspaper and Newsday was designated the official daily newspaper for the village. The board also set the village mileage reimbursement rate to coincide with the Internal Revenue Service rate.

Meeting schedule, bonds and other motions

The board adopted a schedule for regular meetings to be held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 6 p.m., with exceptions for August and December (one meeting each month on the second Monday) and a provision to move meetings that fall on a Monday holiday to Tuesday, as recorded in the motion.

Trustees moved that certain village officials be bonded at the respective amounts listed in the meeting record; the transcript records that bond amounts were listed but the amounts themselves are not specified in the transcript excerpt.

Procedure and debate

Most items were approved on voice votes with brief motions and "Aye" responses recorded; the meeting record shows little extended discussion or dissent on the organizational items. Where the transcript was unclear (for example, one line listing a depository and a date in the organizational meeting motion), the meeting record did not provide corrected language in the excerpt available.

Votes at a glance

- Motion to accept the mayor—s appointments as presented — approved (voice vote; mover/second not specified in transcript). - Motion to appoint John Rocco and Nicholas Fusillo as chairs of the planning board and zoning board of appeals and to appoint planning board members Frank Ambrosio, Steve Fuco and Brian T. Egan for one-year terms — approved (voice vote; mover/second not specified). - Motion to approve CDA board appointments as presented — approved (voice vote). - Motion to accept Climate Smart Task Force membership as presented — approved (voice vote). - Motion to appoint Paul Murphy as Conservation Tree Committee chair and accept committee membership as presented — approved (voice vote). - Motion to adopt standards of the New York Board of Fire Underwriters pursuant to local law referenced in the record — approved (voice vote). The transcript records the authority text as "pursuit to local law number 17 19 84"; the meeting record excerpt does not clarify the precise citation. - Motion to set the annual organizational meeting timing and to adopt the regular-meeting calendar for 2025 (second and fourth Mondays at 6 p.m., with stated exceptions) — approved (voice vote). The transcript contains inconsistent date wording in one line of the motion; the excerpt does not include an unambiguous corrected date. - Motion to authorize attendance at specified conferences and training for listed officers and employees — approved (voice vote). - Motion to adopt the village investment policy and list depositories (Dime Bank, Bank of America, Chase, "Capital 1 Bank" and one unclear entry) — approved (voice vote). - Motion to adopt the 2025 fee schedule and to approve building/permit fee schedules for April 2025 — approved (voice vote). - Motion to adopt the village handbook pending updates for 2025 state mandates and village attorney approval — approved (voice vote). - Motion to designate The Advance as the official weekly newspaper and Newsday as the official daily newspaper — approved (voice vote). - Motion to set village mileage reimbursement to coincide with the IRS rate — approved (voice vote). - Motion that listed village officials be bonded at the respective bond amounts as listed in the record — approved (voice vote); amounts not specified in the transcript excerpt.

What remains unclear from the meeting excerpt

- Several items in the transcript are garbled or unclear: one depository name is recorded as "MBA class as depart depositories" and an organizational-date line includes differing numerals ("04/30/2020" then mention of "Sixth 20 26"). The transcript excerpt used for this article does not include corrected or definitive language for those points; the village minutes or the finalized resolution text should be consulted for precise citations, bond amounts and depository names.

Next steps

The board adjourned after completing the organizational business; routine committee and planning items will proceed under the newly confirmed rosters and staff training assignments. The village clerk—s finalized meeting minutes and the written policies adopted at the meeting will provide the official, authoritative record of exact bond amounts, depository names and any corrected dates or citations.