Two resignations in a row temporarily close Northport Village Court

Candidate interviews for positions within the Northport Village Justice Court were conducted this week, as Village officials look to replace two clerks who recently resigned. Village Court has been closed since Monday, February 5 – immediately after the latest resignation – and will reopen when a new court clerk is hired, said Mayor Donna Koch, who shared a tentative reopening date of March 4 with the Journal. 

“I want to stress that even though the court office is closed, our police department continues to function as it always has. Class E felonies, domestic abuse, or anything else that needs an immediate arraignment will be transferred down to Central Islip for processing,” Koch said.

The closure occurred after the resignation of the senior court clerk, who left her position last week for another job when she and the Village could not come to terms on a salary increase, Koch said.

The deputy court clerk, who resigned over two months ago after being a Village employee for six years, had also asked for a salary adjustment early last fall, Koch explained. “She wanted to be treated fairly, as the Village was hiring positions that were paying $3,500 more than what she was making at the time,” the mayor said. Some trustees agreed with the pay increase, but “we didn’t have enough votes of the board,” Koch told the Journal. 

The deputy court clerk took another higher paying position in Nassau County. 

“We’re sorry to lose such valued employees, but with a very tight budget, large salary increases are just not in the budget for us this year. We are working diligently to fill these two positions,” Koch said. 

The court closure has sparked interest from local news publications, including Patch and News12. Both outlets were contacted by board members, according to sources close to the Village. 

The Patch article includes a statement from Trustee Ernest Pucillo in which he said that the clerks and the Village prosecutor all quit, and that the dispute was over salaries. That article was updated one day after publishing with a statement from Deputy Mayor Meghan Dolan, who clarified that the prosecutor resigned because of “professional and familial commitments, not because of a salary dispute or other employees.”

While salary was an issue with the clerks’ departures, “it certainly wasn’t the case with the prosecutor,” Koch confirmed. The Village prosecutor provided advanced notice to the Village regarding his departure, which was due to family and work obligations. Another prosecutor was hired shortly thereafter, a turnover that did not impact court operations. 

Clerk salary increases were not a topic of discussion during last month’s budget workshops and public hearing, with Trustee Pucillo stating at the January 2 public budget hearing that he would not approve a budget increase. After participating in an additional budget workshop with their fellow board members and Village employees, both Pucillo and Trustee Joseph Sabia later voted against the budget, which increased by 1.44% from last year. The budget passed by a 3-2 vote. 

Tensions have been high at recent board meetings with personal attacks landing on both the trustees and mayor, over topics ranging from the budget to public appearances, the basketball court project and safety of Cow Harbor Park – matters that have pitted, in particular, trustees Pucillo and Sabia against the mayor.

The recent static over the court closure, Koch told the Journal, was “a personal issue and was blown out of control by a couple of trustees.”

Trustee Ernest Pucillo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.