Residents press Greenburgh Town Board over job consolidations, salaries and civility

Residents at the Greenburgh Town Board meeting on April 22 pressed elected officials about recent personnel changes, alleged fiscal mismanagement and the tone of public meetings. Multiple speakers urged the board to explain why the town combined duties and to release records showing hours worked and compensation for officials.

“Given that public statement, that he's been working 70 plus hours a week, I think residents deserve full transparency,” resident Edward Dwyer said, asking for “a detailed public accounting of Mr. Morabito's hours worked in his role since his appointment, including overtime and all costs.” Several speakers cited a forensic accounting report that found large amounts of uncollected property taxes and said that context makes transparency especially important.

Other residents said service at the building department has deteriorated amid staffing shortages. “Inspections are taking longer. They're harder to get,” Brandon Sheehan said, describing repeated delays for home projects and arguing that understaffing undermines any efficiency case for combining roles. Erica Bakshi and others said the building department currently has three vacancies and questioned continuity and backup if multiple roles are held by the same person.

Speakers also raised concerns about pay and equity. Public commenters repeatedly referenced a $263,000 salary figure tied to consolidated duties and asked whether that pay is coupled with overtime or stipends. “Paying $263,000 to one person is a tremendous amount of money,” Erica Bakshi said, adding that it could prompt other department heads to seek raises.

Several district leaders and civic volunteers called for improved civility at meetings and better public engagement. Andrea Reid, speaking for the Fairview district leaders, asked the board to “take a step back and look introspectively” at how tensions among elected officials are affecting residents’ confidence. Sydney Collins said seniors have expressed that the meetings’ tone is discouraging public participation.

Supervisor Paul Feiner and other board members responded at length, defending the staffing decisions as efficiency measures and disputing some public characterizations. Feiner said the consolidation is intended to produce cost savings and operational efficiencies, and he pledged to meet with the building department to investigate permit delays. He said a proposed resolution on ICE would be held for a full-board vote at the next meeting so all members can participate.

The meeting did not produce a formal accounting or immediate personnel reversal; multiple commenters asked the board to provide documents and timelines for any planned reviews. The board acknowledged the concerns and said several items—including the ICE resolution—would be taken up at future meetings to ensure all members can vote.