Narrative:

The Supervisor is the Chief Executive Officer, Chief
Fiscal Officer, and head of the administrative branch of Town government.
He is one of five members of the Town Board. The
Supervisor is responsible for annually submitting an operating and capital
budget to the Town Board. He also prepares the agenda for Town Board
meetings and presides over all meetings. He appoints a Deputy Supervisor
and Town Historian. Like Town Council members, the Supervisor's term is
for four years .
Initiatives:

FINANCIAL
- Delivered 15 consecutive balanced
budgets and reduced property taxes on the average home in Huntington from a
high of $840 to the present average of $784.
- Significantly reduced debt
service, which once consumed 24 cents of every dollar that Huntington received
in tax revenue, and now uses only 7 cents of each dollar, thus saving the Town
millions in interest costs.
- Brought the Town from one of the worst bond ratings on Long Island
to the best.
- Cut capital spending while at the same time increasing the Town's
capital program utilizing reserve accounts containing funds that had been set
aside .
- Instituted a "pay-as-you-go" philosophy to cut borrowing and cut
interest costs.
- Sponsored legislation to offer
the maximum tax exemptions allowable under the law for Huntington's seniors,
our Firefighters and Ambulance workers, and our Veterans.
- Initiated a process to allow School Districts and other Municipalities
to buy off Huntington Town contracts, thus creating economies of scale for all
and saving taxpayer money.
- Organized opposition to MTA payroll tax, including
forming a task force of school districts, library districts and fire districts
to seek repeal of tax as it applies to public payrolls
ENVIRONMENT
- Sponsored three bond acts to purchase
and preserve open spaces and rehabilitate Town parks, playgrounds and beaches.
Since 1998, the Town of Huntington has preserved more than 235 acres of
environmentally sensitive lands throughout Huntington.
- Sponsored a program allowing the
transfer of density flow rights from environmentally sensitive land to
properties more appropriate for development.
- Implemented numerous programs to
reduce storm water runoff; improve water quality; restore wetlands; and
upgrade the Town's sewage treatment facility.
- Spearheaded efforts that
produced a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) for the Huntington
Harbor area.
- Sponsored the resolution in which the
Town adopted the United States Conference of Mayors Climate Protection
Agreement. As part of this agreement, the Town committed to measures that will
increase the fuel efficiency of town fleet vehicles, promote transportation
options such as car-pooling and public transit, set reduction targets for
reducing global emissions in Town operations and adopt and enforce land-use
policies that reduce sprawl and preserve open space.
- Sponsored a resolution to hire a
Chief Sustainability Officer to ensure that Town policies and procedures meet
green energy goals, including completion of a town-wide energy master
plan.
- Increased the Town's fleet of hybrid
and alternative fuel vehicles, engineered Town participation in nationwide
test that added six Mini-E plug in electric vehicles and led move requiring
contract garbage carters to operate their fleets on compressed natural gas.
- Oversaw completion and adoption
of a new Master Plan that conforms to Smart Growth principles.
- Sponsored legislation to allow
businesses in certain Industrial Areas to increase both density and height, if
they construct a building, which attains a Silver certified rating under the
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Commercial Green Building
Rating System or other LEED Rating System approved by the U. S. Green Building
Council .
- Obtained Federal "no-discharge" status for the Greater
Huntington-Northport Bay Complex.
- Sponsored legislation ordering a phase-out of pesticide use on
the Town's two golf courses.
- Expanded Town's recycling
program.
- Received a $50,000 grant from the Long
Island Power Authority to develop a study to identify bacterial loading
resulting from storm water runoff.
- Opposed the construction of
Broadwater.
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
·
Formed and
chaired the Route 110 Partnership to attract businesses to and promote economic
development in the Route 110 corridor.
·
Worked with Canon on the construction of its
North American headquarters in Melville and with Leviton on the relocation of
its headquarters to Melville
·
Spearheaded the reconstruction of Walt Whitman
Road, a $7 million project that is funded with Federal, State and local monies,
and which will provide a total upgrading for this artery that is the downtown of
the Melville area.
·
Initiated plans for a small business incubator
in Huntington Station
·
Formed the Huntington Economic Development
Corp. to spearhead redevelopment projects throughout the Town, with an initial
focus on the Huntington Station area.
·
Sponsored legislation requiring that all Town
public works projects and all construction projects of over 100,000 square feet
be built by a contractor who has an approved Apprenticeship Program.
QUALITY OF LIFE
- Led the effort to update Huntington's Master Plan,
which began with a series of Visioning Sessions to obtain input from our
residents and culminated in the adoption of the Horizon 20/20 Plan by the Town
Board in 2008
- Spearheaded efforts to revitalize Huntington
Station.
- Sponsored legislation to provide funding for new Streetscaping along
Route 110 in Huntington Station, including antique lighting fixtures and brick
sidewalks to restore the original look of the Huntington Station
Community.
- Re-instituted the
hanging flower basket program in Huntington village and initiated similar
programs in the Huntington Station and East Northport areas.
- Originated the "Take Back the
Blocks" program, which purchased houses from absentee landlords, rehabilitates
or replaces them and sells them to resident owners meeting income
qualifications.
- Obtained $1.5 million Restore NY
Communities grant for Columbia Street redevelopment and sought $1.2 million
Restore NY Communities grand to demolish Tilden Brakes building in Huntington
Station and replace it with a mixed-use, retail-residential complex.
- Initiated the "American Dream"
program, providing down payment assistance to low- and moderate-income Town
residents, helping young, first time home buyers.
- Purchased the former Solid Rock
Ministries Building on New York Avenue, north of the Village and the Rose and
Thistle property on New and Green Streets to provide 143 additional parking
spaces in Huntington Village.
- Reconstructed and expanded the parking
lot at the Cold Spring Harbor Long Island Rail Road Station, adding 71 spaces.
- Fought and defeated proposed train storage and cleaning facility in
Greenlawn.
- Led efforts to transform blighted corner in
Centerport into a passive, waterfront park.
- Sponsored legislation tightening the
Town's Housing Codes to prevent the proliferation of sub-standard housing and
assist the Town in prosecuting absentee landlords.
- Worked to strengthen the Town
Code to prevent the sale of drug paraphernalia within Huntington and initiated
a court action allowing the Suffolk County Police and Town investigators to
seize merchandise that was being purchased for drug use.
- Increased penalties for repeat violators of the Town Code.
- Initiated a Universal Design
program, providing incentives to builders who provide Universal Design
building principles, such as zero step entry, 34 inch doorways, and adaptable
bathrooms in residential construction, additions or modifications.
- Provided funding to rehabilitate and enhance playgrounds, parks,
and ball fields.
- Instituted a program to place Heart Defibrillators in Town
Buildings and Parks to assist victims of sudden cardiac arrest.
- Provided funding to restore
and enhance Crab Meadow Golf Course. .
- Entered into an Agreement with
the Urban League of Long Island to allow Huntington's Seniors to participate
in a Senior Community Employment Program.
- Sponsored Anti-Gang Summit, bringing
together School Districts and not for profits, leading to the formation of the
Anti-Gang Task Force and the Communities and Schools Together Program (CAST).
- Worked with the Suffolk County Center
on Holocaust, Diversity and Human Understanding to bring the "Embracing our
Differences" Exhibit to Heckscher Park.
Bio:

Frank P. Petrone's almost 16-year tenure as Huntington
Town Supervisor has been marked by sound fiscal management, community
redevelopment, innovative economic and housing initiatives, dedication to
preserving the environment and open space and major capital projects that
further enhance the Town's outstanding quality of
life.
Huntington maintains the highest bond rating of any
municipality on Long Island and uses one of the smallest percentages of its
budget to pay off debt. The Town's fiscal and accounting practices consistently
merit a Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the
Government Finance Officers Association. As the Town's chief fiscal officer,
Supervisor Petrone has ensured that budgets are balanced and tax rates remain
stable .
Supervisor Petrone sponsored three major bond acts that
created a fund to purchase open space, upgrade Town parks and implement
neighborhood improvements. The third bond act also includes funding for "green"
initiatives. He spearheaded an innovative program
allowing the transfer of density flow rights to preserve environmentally
sensitive land while promoting economic development. Supervisor Petrone
initiated a partnership with Suffolk County to share the cost of development
rights to preserve farmland. He directed
the upgrade of the Town's wastewater treatment plant to maintain and protect
water quality in Huntington Harbor and Long Island Sound. The $18 million
upgrade reduced nitrogen discharge by 90 percent and was awarded the American
Council of Engineering Companies' Platinum Award.
To help provide affordable housing in the Town, Supervisor
Petrone sponsored the creation of an Affordable Housing Trust Fund with
contributions required from developers; initiated a Take Back the Blocks program
that purchases and rehabilitates local eyesores and sells them to qualified
residents; was instrumental in the creations of hundreds of rental and ownership
units for working families and senior citizens; implemented programs that
provide down payment assistance to help low- and moderate income
first-time buyers purchase homes; and began
a program of low-interest loans to help homeowners create legal "affordable"
accessory apartments
He has led the effort to enhance and expand programs and
activities for senior citizens and children, which resulted in Huntington being
named one of the 100 best communities for young people by America's Promise
Alliance in 2008. He sponsored a successful Gang Summit that brought together
local school districts and led to the implementation of the communities and
Schools Together (CAST) program. He
sponsored legislation to provide more childcare for working families, provided
funding to launch a comprehensive revitalization of Huntington Station, and
implemented an aggressive economic development plan to attract new companies and
hundreds of jobs to Huntington.
Supervisor Petrone has been a leader in the development
of the Route 110 corridor as Long Island's commercial center and was
instrumental in convincing companies such as Canon USA and Leviton to relocate
their headquarters to Melville. He prioritized shovel-ready stimulative projects
and developed green building legislation.
Supervisor Petrone initiated and oversaw a major
revision to the Town's master plan that established the concept of Hamlet Zones
to allow development appropriate to each geographic focal area.
As a former regional director for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, Supervisor Petrone has brought his emergency operations
expertise to the Town, directing and implementing a major upgrade of the Town's
Emergency Operations Center to state-of-the-art standards. The Supervisor has
also been chosen by U.S. Congressman Steve Israel to Co-Chair his Congressional
Hurricane Preparedness Group and has been a featured speaker at a special
Hurricane Preparedness seminar at Dowling
College.
Supervisor Petrone was first elected to a four-year term
as Supervisor in 1993. He was re-elected in 1997, 2001 and
2005.
Prior to becoming Supervisor, Mr. Petrone worked for more than
18 years in public service. Past positions include Assistant Suffolk
County Executive under three administrations, Director of Environmental Control
for the Town of Huntington, Chief of Staff to the Suffolk County Legislature,
and most notably as Regional Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA). As Region II Director of
FEMA, Mr. Petrone was instrumental in developing FEMA's Hurricane Preparedness
Program and guided federal policy on disaster mitigation plans. During
Hurricane Gloria, Mr. Petrone managed the response and recovery plan for FEMA on
Long Island.
The Supervisor holds two Master's Degrees, an M.A. in
Higher Education Administration from the University of Denver, and a M.P.A. in
Public Administration/Policy from Long Island University. In addition, he
holds a B.S. from SUNY Albany, an A.A.S. from Staten Island Community College,
and an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Five Towns
College.
The Supervisor has two grown children. He and his
wife, Patricia, reside in
Commack.
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