The Riverhead Town Board voted at a special meeting Tuesday to terminate Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Ray Coyne, a department head who had worked for the town since October 2005.
The board voted 4-0 to adopt a hearing officer’s findings and recommendation to terminate an employee identified in the resolution only as Employee #GFZ000299. Council Member Bob Kern, who is the Town Board liaison to the parks and recreation department, abstained without comment.
RiverheadLOCAL confirmed through a town payroll list obtained through the Freedom of Information Law that the employee number listed in the resolution was assigned to Coyne.
The resolution does not state the charges or specifications against him. It says a disciplinary hearing under Civil Service Law Section 75 was held March 18 and April 21 before hearing officer Robert E. Draffin, who found the employee guilty of “several of the charges/specifications against him” and recommended that his unpaid suspension be upheld and that his employment be terminated.
The hearing officer’s findings and recommendations, referred to in the resolution, were not made public with the resolution or at Tuesday’s meeting.
No members of the public attended the 2 p.m. special meeting in person. One person, longtime Riverhead resident Marylin Banks-Winter, spoke via Zoom in support of Coyne and asked the board to reconsider the penalty of termination.
Banks-Winter said the resolution did not state the incompetency or misconduct alleged against Coyne. She said she was not disputing the procedural posture of the case, but asked the board to consider whether termination was fair in light of Coyne’s record and contributions to the town.
“Mr. Coyne has served the Town of Riverhead “has been the key point person for community organizations and residents,” Banks-Winter said.
She also pointed to his role in the Bell Town Heritage Area recognition ceremony, calling the designation of Bell Town as Riverhead’s first officially designated heritage area “a significant landmark achievement for Riverhead.”
Supervisor Jerry Halpin cut Banks-Winter off after she reached the three-minute time limit for comments on resolutions, though no one else was waiting to speak. Banks-Winter was permitted to make a brief closing statement.
“Please consider Mr. Coyne’s overall record of service and positive contributions he has made to this town,” Banks-Winter said. “Mercy, fairness and good judgment are always important considerations in public service. The decision you make today will not only affect one man’s future, but will also send a message about how Riverhead values loyalty, dedication and years of public service.”
No Town Board members discussed the substance of the charges before the vote. Only Halpin and Rothwell commented prior to voting.
Council Member Ken Rothwell, who moved the resolution, said he trusted the hearing officer’s work.
“I think this has just been a four-month period, and I trust the work of the hearing officer, and I think the Parks Department needs to move forward in a busy season,” Rothwell said before voting yes. “So thank you for having a special Town Board meeting so that they can continue to do the work that they do. But based on the hearing officer’s finding, I vote yes.”
Halpin said he supported the hearing officer’s recommendation.
“I fully support the hearing officer’s recommendation of termination of this employment regarding the professional misconduct in this case,” Halpin said. “But I know our Recreation Department, under that leadership of our deputy superintendent and her team, will continue to operate at 100% efficiency during their busy season, and I vote yes.”
The superintendent of parks and recreation oversees a department responsible for town parks, recreation facilities, programs and events.
Halpin did not return a phone call seeking comment after the meeting.
In a phone interview after the meeting, Rothwell said the hearing officer conducted an extensive review, spoke to multiple witnesses and provided the Town Board with a written report after a process that took about four months.
Rothwell said the hearing officer recommended termination and the Town Board followed that recommendation.
“This individual was given very fair due process, but I feel that we do need to respect the report from the hearing officer,” Rothwell said.
Rothwell said he supported holding a special meeting because the matter affected the Recreation Department during one of its busiest times of year.
“I think this process has taken far too long, over the course of four months,” Rothwell said. “I thought there might have been swifter action taken, but we had to let everything take its due process and everybody’s rights be protected.”
Rothwell said the uncertainty created by the unresolved disciplinary process had been hanging over the department.
“I wanted to conclude this as soon as possible,” he said. “I did support having a special meeting just so that the department as a whole can get started on potentially a replacement hire, and just maintaining being organized there, and put it to rest, so everybody knows how we’re going forward.”
Draffin was appointed hearing officer by Town Board resolution Feb. 18.
Today’s resolution states that the Town Board reviewed the record supporting Draffin’s findings and recommendations and determined that the record supported the recommendations. It then adopts the hearing officer’s recommendations “in its entirety,” including findings of fact and the recommended penalty, and terminates Employee #GFZ000299 effective immediately.
Dwayne Eleazer, founder of the Stop the Violence Basketball Tournament and a member of the town’s recreation advisory committee, submitted a petition to the town Monday with more than 200 signatures in support of Coyne.
Eleazer said he delivered the petition to the town clerk Monday morning and also gave copies to the supervisor’s secretary.
“Ray helped us a lot, not only with the tournament,” Eleazer said. “I’m on the recreation advisory committee. If there was something broken or something needed attention, he took care of things.”
Eleazer said Coyne has had a positive impact in Riverhead, especially in the African American community, and described him as a dedicated leader whose service has made a difference in the town.
He said he also testified as a character witness for Coyne at one of the disciplinary hearings.
Coyne could not immediately be reached for comment.
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