Orangetown Adopts Computer System Security Policy

Tuesday's Orangetown Town Board meeting moved quickly and with little discussion once the voting began.

The meeting opened with presentations regarding the "Streets Named for Our Fallen Heroes" project and the recognition of the Pearl River High School girls basketball team. 

The actual items up for a vote all passed unanimously. This included the adoption of a new computer system security breach notification policy by the town. The purpose of the policy is to set procedures to make sure individuals' whose information might be compromised in the event of a security breach are notified in a timely manner so they can take appropriate action. The full text of the new policy is attached to this report.

During last week's town board workshop, Councilman Denis Troy characterized the policy as standard and expressed his full support.

One piece of new business was the appointment of Andrew Eaniello as a part time court constable in the Justice Department at a rate of $20 per hour. Supervisor Andy Stewart pointed out that this will not increase the cost of the position, just give them another constable available when needed.

"It gives them a bench," Councilman Tom Diviny said.

Other items the board approved Tuesday included:

• Aid for the 2012 Orangetown Relay For Life, which is scheduled for June 15 and 16 at the Central Avenue Field in Pearl River, including barricades, trash barrels and portable restrooms.
• Increase the Justice Court budget by $15,048, which reflects a grant that can only be used for the purchase of furniture and file cabinets.
• Award the bid for 2012 bus transportation for the Orangetown summer camp to Chestnut Ridge Transportation at $348 per all-day bus and $248 per morning and afternoon bus. Chestnut Ridge was the only qualified bidder.
• Award mowing contract for Rockland Psychiatric Center property to9 Creative Touch Landscaping of Pearl River at $17,571.78.
• Accept the resignation of Vincent J. Malfitano from the Orangetown Parks and Recreation Department.
• Appoint Karen Jalines as Principal Clerk Typist in the Highway Department.

Resident Shelly Morgan brought up the only major argument of the proceedings during the public comments, pushing his ongoing request for information regarding work done by the Orangetown Environmental Management and Engineering Department at 353 Western Highway in Tappan. Morgan said he observed the sewer department vehicle at the property March 22 of this year. He filed FOIL documents for more information, but said the response he received was not acceptable. 

Morgan claimed that the town is authorizing work on private property at taxpayer expense. Morgan refused to return to his seat after his allotted time was up, insisting he would not move until he got answers. 

"Let him get up here and give me answers," Morgan said in reference to DEME Director Joe Moran. "This is not our property. Are we doing somebody a favor?"

"I know you find this hard to believe, but you do not the town," Councilman Denis Troy said. "You do not run this meeting. This is not how the public portion works."

"We are not going to get into an extended conversation," Stewart said. "I have spent a significant amount of time pursuing the information you requested and Joe (Moran) has as well. You are not satisfied with the answers and that's why we are working on it."

Moran said that that he authorized the department vehicle to be at the site. He said it is not unusual for the department to do such investigations upon request for a private property, whether it is a home being built or a project such as Orangeburg Commons. 

"There is no favoritism," Moran said. "It's what we do for everybody."

"They do diagnostic work to check the status of the system," Stewart said. "People request that and the town does it as part of the normal functioning to make sure the system is running right."