The Riverhead Town Board was so eager to hire a new town board coordinator, it had the fourth person to fill that post in three years begin working even before she was formally appointed.
The new coordinator, Carissa Willis, of Calverton, reported for duty Thursday morning, though she won’t be officially appointed until tomorrow night, when the board is expected to take up a resolution naming her to the post.
The appointment was discussed at Thursday’s work session, after word of her impending appointment had already been reported in the media.
Former town board coordinator Tracy Densieski resigned last month after just four months on the job. Her predecessor, Linda Hulse, was terminated in November, after a year-and-a-half in the position. The town board coordinator before that, Donna Zlatniski, claimed she was coerced by board members to resign and filed a $1 million lawsuit agains the town.
Willis, 36, a former Marine sergeant, said she believes her military training will help her in the new job. “”My military training has helped me with everything from the time I stepped into bootcamp,” she said.
“You guys better behave yourselves,” Supervisor Sean Walter said to board members at Thursday’s work session.
“We needed someone in that office right away,” Councilman John Dunleavy said of the reason Willis started work before she was officially hired by the town. “We couldn’t delay it another day.”
After serving in the Marines, Willis was a full-time mom and part-time health sciences student at Stony Brook University. She has three children.
A Lindenhurst native, she has lived in Calverton for 10 years.
“I’m very excited,” Willis said of her new job. “I think its a great opportunity.”
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