Chairing key committees in county government, Legislator Anthony Piccirillo has a lot to say about how Suffolk operates and where taxpayer dollars are spent. The Holbrook lawmaker, now in his third term, is part of a Republican majority seeking to take the county in a different direction after years of Democrat rule.
“Finances are always on the top of my mind since each of us, respectively, is a trustee of a $4 billion budget,” Piccirillo said of his role with the legislature. “We have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure that we are providing services at the best price and most efficient way possible.”
The chair of the Environment, Parks and Agriculture Committee and the Capital Budget Working Group added, “As a Conservative and fiscal watchdog, I tend to always lean on finances and where we are with sales tax numbers and property tax collection; l want to know what we're paying for services, what we're paying for third party contractors. I think that's a big part of the legislature that sometimes gets overlooked because we do so many things as a county.”
An environmental and economic priority of the legislator is the creation of new sewer capacity to help keep Suffolk waterways clean and provide opportunities for growth. He’s looking to sewer the Holbrook Business District and about 360 homes in the low-lying Idle Hour section of Oakdale, a project that is expected to be bolstered by a $35 million federal grant he’s working on with Congressman Andrew Garbarino. Piccirillo supported the bill sent to Albany for state permission to hold a public vote on raising the sales tax an eighth of a cent for sewers and private cesspool upgrades, key components of the county’s long-range wastewater treatment plan.
“Holbrook competes with the Ronkonkoma Hub and Patchogue, so we want the residents to have choices when they go out to eat or shop at local businesses,” Piccirillo said in explaining the economic value of sewers. He said the area will also benefit from capital expenditures approved by the working group to improve Patchogue-Holbrook Road.
The 8th District legislator is also focused on the creation of a new county park on the site of the former Sachem administration building on Union Avenue in Holbrook. The project, including the demolition of the asbestos-laden facility, will be a joint effort between Brookhaven Town and the state and federal governments, he noted. Other priorities of the capital group are crosswalk improvements, guardrails, median upgrades, and other safety measures along county roads.
To protect the Great South Bay and local beaches, a vital asset for both residents and tourists alike, Piccirillo is working with Cornell Cooperative Extension to map stormwater runoff to identify areas in need of mitigation. Coastal resiliency is also on his radar, given the damage to Fire Island and low-lying coastal communities during the January storms.
The lawmaker pointed to two noteworthy pieces of legislation he was behind: a law requiring those selling catalytic converters to recyclers or junkyards to provide identification and a Transition of Powers law that requires outgoing elected officials to maintain records, office equipment, and other details for their successors, a measure born of the emptied out space Piccirillo encountered when he was first elected.
In one of his most visible roles, Piccirillo serves as chair of the special committee looking into the 2022 cyberattack that crippled county government for months, the first investigatory body in Suffolk in decades with subpoena powers. The chairman, who oversees a special counsel retained to assist the committee, stressed that their focus is both on finding out how hackers gained access to the county’s network under former county Executive Steve Bellone and making recommendations on how the government can better protect itself.
The legislator pointed up the importance of legislative investigations, believing that the lawmakers are co-equal to the executive branch as shepherds of the public dollar. “I don't see the government as a sword; it’s a shield for citizens and taxpayers to make sure that their money and their data and their quality of life are protected,” he explained. “That’s what I understand is the purpose of government. In my role as the chair of the special committee, I think the word is out that you need to come to work, and you need to perform in a professional way within the rules, or the legislature is going to call you to task,” he promised. “We hold the oversight of the county, and I believe we have to wield that oversight in order to hold people accountable so that the taxpayers are getting the biggest bang for their buck.”
Tipping his hat to the new county executive, fellow Republican Ed Romaine, Piccirillo said, “He’s been great, a breath of fresh air. It's almost like a weight has been lifted after coming out of 12 years of corruption,” he said referring to former District Attorney Tom Spota and his co-conspirators Chris McPartland and Jim Burke, who were convicted on federal charges. “There was a stain that was on this county; I feel like it's finally being scrubbed away.”