Town Manager Discussion Slated for Saturday

The topic of whether the Town of East Hampton should create the position of town manager is once again on the table.

"Town Manager Options for East Hampton," a forum co-sponsored by the East Hampton Group for Good Government, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons and the East Hampton Business Alliance, will be held on Saturday at the East Hampton Emergency Services Building at 3 p.m.

The town manager model of government, in which there is a professional administrator who would report directly to the town board, is one residents have shown an interest in over the past few years. The League of Women Voters and the East Hampton Business Alliance has advocated that the Town of East Hampton move to a model similar to that of the Village of East Hampton.

Award-winning broadcaster and author Lynn Sherr will moderate the forum.

Panelists include Howard Arden, Supervisor of North Castle, which created a town administrator position in 2012; Steven Altieri, Administrator of the Town of Mamaroneck; Carole Campolo, a Springs resident who is a retired New York City Government executive; Larry Cantwell, the soon-to-be retired East Hampton Village Administrator and a hopeful for Town Supervisor; Zachary Cohen, a 2011 candidate for East Hampton Town Supervisor; and Barbara Jordan, a former president of the League of Women Voters.

“At the forum, we will explore this model and various alternatives,” said Arthur Malman, co-chair of the GGG. “Many people erroneously believe that the Town Supervisor is the Town’s chief executive officer. Under Town law, the five-member Town Board, as a group, is the Town’s chief executive officer. The Supervisor is the Town’s chief financial officer and is the presiding officer at Town Board meetings.”

The discussion will be taped and aired by LTV for later viewing on Channel 20.

Are you interested in seeing East Hampton have a town manager position? Tell us in the comments below.