Home News Local News Town board wrap: Southold hires three new police officers and youth director

Town board wrap: Southold hires three new police officers and youth director

Southold Town has hired three new police officers.

The town board on Tuesday appointed Katie Johnson, Shawn Williams, and Steven Ficner to the position of police officer for the Southold Town Police Department, effective September 21, at an annual starting salary of $44,926.

With Supervisor Scott Russell and Deputy Supervisor William Ruland presiding, the board voted unanimously to approve the new hires.

The board also appointed Lynn Nyilas to the part-time position of community relations specialist at the rate of $27.47 per hour, not to exceed 17.5 hours per week.

“Community relations specialist” is the civil service title for the youth director post, according to officials. Nyilas will coordinate all youth activities for the town. She starts today.

The board voted Tuesday night to establish the part-time position of wildlife manager/environmental analyst and authorized the publication of an advertisement seeking job applicants.

Councilman Bob Ghosio said the town has been working to get the civil service title from the county for the past year. The position is funded and in the current budget, Ghosio said.

“We’re looking forward to having someone on board for helping with the issues we have, particularly with the deer” Ghosio said.

The town is also seeking to fill volunteer positions on its Transportation Commission and Conservation Advisory Council, after accepting the resignations of members from each of those bodies this week: Transportation Commission member Thomas Loreto Jr. and Conservation Advisory Council member Tim Kelly.

In other action, the town board scheduled a public hearing on Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. on a local law authorizing the board to pierce the 2-percent tax levy limitation in 2017. See separate story.

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Denise Civiletti
Denise is a veteran local reporter and editor, an attorney and former Riverhead Town councilwoman. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including a “writer of the year” award from the N.Y. Press Association in 2015. She is a founder, owner and co-publisher of this website.