Romaine Takes Reins of County Government January 1

File Photo

With just a couple of weeks left to go before he takes over the reins of county government, Suffolk Executive-Elect Edward Romaine is deciding on major positions in his administration and is touching base with officials on all levels to set a path for his ambitious agenda.

He will be officially sworn in during a private ceremony at the stroke of midnight January 1 and then host a public event later in the day at the Eastport-South Manor High School at 2 p.m. Hundreds are expected to be on hand to see the first new county executive in 12 years and the first Republican to hold Suffolk’s highest office in two decades.

At the top of Romaine’s agenda is the appointment of a new police commissioner, as well as top officials in key departments, including public works, parks, labor, health, social services, and human resources, personnel, and civil service, to name a few. The county executive will appoint his deputies, in addition to the deputies, assistants, and staff in the various offices.

Romaine will also be looking to tighten up the Department of Information Technology, which has been under fire in the wake of the 2022 cyber hack that crippled county government. He’s expecting a report from a special committee investigating the attack and its recommendations on how to better secure Suffolk’s system.

Right out of the gate, Romaine will be traveling to Albany to attend the State of the State Address of Gov. Kathy Hochul. While there, he said he will meet with the senators and assembly members who represent Suffolk to strategize an agenda that includes getting the county’s fair share of the state’s $4.2 billion environmental bond act monies and roll back the pro-criminal legislation that spurred a crime wave across the state.

The county executive-elect said he is also planning to attend the swearing in of the new supervisors who will take office in six of Suffolk’s 10 towns, including Brookhaven, where he is turning his seat over to his deputy, Councilman Daniel Panico. The new year will see a monumental change in local government with Romaine at the top, new faces in the GOP-controlled Suffolk Legislature, and new supervisors, along with Brookhaven, in East Hampton, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Southold, and Southampton. During his campaign to succeed Steven Bellone, who was prohibited from running for reelection due to Suffolk’s term limit law, Romaine promised to lead a coalition of Suffolk’s towns to address regional issues.

Using his experience as a supervisor and legislator to his advantage, as well as the relationships forged during his decades in public service, Romaine hopes to usher through a bill to set up a public referendum to create a countywide sewer district and raise the sales tax an eighth of a cent to fund sewer construction and upgrade private cesspools.

Unlike his predecessor, Romaine will not put his name on county signs at parks and other facilities. Instead, there will be information on reporting issues such as illegal dumping, he said.