Town Hires Former Southampton Building, Planning Administrator

The Riverhead Town Board voted unanimously on Tuesday to appoint Jefferson Murphree as the new town building and planning administrator.

In his new position, Murphree will earn a salary of $110,000.

In a surprise move, Murphree in December from his position as head of Southampton Town’s land management department, where he had served as chief planning and development administrator for over 13 years.

When he resigned from Southampton, Muphree said he planned to work in the private sector, and was employed with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc. (VHB), a Hauppauge-based consulting firm that Riverhead Town has contracted to conduct a study of Enterprise Park at Calverton.

Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter said he's aiming to combine the town's planning and building departments under one administrator -- something Murphree had experience with, during the early stages when the Town of Southampton made the same decision years ago.

"It's a perfect fit," Walter said. "I"m excited -- this solves a lot of our problems."

The resolution appointing Murphree states that the Suffolk County Department of Civil Service has issued approval to fill the position of town building and planning administrator on a provisional basis until the certified list of eligibles for the title is released.

The position was advertised for, interviews were conducted, and the town board and personnel committee recommended Murphree for the post.

Murphree's first day will be Monday.