Supervisor: One of Six Proposed Full-Time Layoffs Would Hit Animal Shelter

After last week's second request for proposals to privatize operations at the animal shelter yielded the same results as the first, Supervisor Sean Walter confirmed on Monday that his tentative 2011 budget proposes cutting one of two animal control officers at the town's shelter.

If the cutback at the shelter makes it into the final budget, the position of Animal Control Officer II would be eliminated at the end of the year, Walter confirmed. The position is one of six full-time job eliminations proposed (in addition to seven part-time layoffs) and would leave the town with one animal control officer, in addition to one full-time kennel assistant and two part-time assistants on the weekends.

According to Walter's proposed budget, last year $241,145 was spent on the control of dogs, while $171,650 is proposed next year, a difference of $69,495.

As of Monday evening, the person holding the position on the block at the animal shelter had not been informed, Walter said. No additional positions slated for elimination could be confirmed.

However, union officials state that the control officer position may not be available for elimination.

In November of 2005, when the Civil Service Employees Association and Town Board were squabbling over whether volunteers at the shelter were taking over union jobs, the Town Board passed a resolution to assure the union that its shelter jobs were safe.

Specifically, the resolution stated that the union would experience no layoffs nor loss of jobs as "a direct result of the Town allowing volunteers to assist with day-to-day operations" at the animal shelter.

It could come down to how one defines "direct result," says Matt Hattoff president of the Riverhead Civil Service Employees Association. Reached Monday, he said, "Mr. Walter is obviously going to argue that [the] layoff is not the result of volunteers, but I'm going to fight him on this."

Indeed, Walter, reached on Monday evening, said, "This is not a direct result at all of volunteers taking over day to day operations. I can't afford two of these guys."

Check here for coverage on the Town Board's recent conversation about privatizing the animal shelter and dealing with unwanted pit bulls.