Greenport Village Board appoints new treasurer

GRANT PARPAN FILE PHOTO
CHarlene Kagel (pictured) was appointed
treasurer of the Greenport Village Board at a special meeting
Friday.

Former Southampton comptroller Charlene Kagel was appointed treasurer of the Greenport Village Board Friday.
Ms. Kagel will fill the position left open when the board did not reappoint Susan Pisano at its annual reorganizational meeting in April.
Ms. Kagel will work at least 20 hours a week for the village at an annual salary of $59,000. Her appointment was approved 3-0 with Trustees Chris Kempner and Michael Osinski absent from the meeting.
In the months since Ms. Pisano left the village, clerk Silvia Lazzari Pirillo has been acting treasurer.
Ms. Kagel’s appointment could have been made by Mayor David Nyce without board approval, but he opted to include the four village trustees in interviews and in the selection of Ms. Kagel.
Ms. Pisano came under fire a number of times from Village Board members who were dissatisfied with her work. In addition, external auditors from Bollam, Sheedy, Torani and Co. LLP said in a report last year that Ms. Pisano lacked sufficient expertise to prepare financial statements and be up to date on accounting requirements.
Mayor Nyce said at the time, the decision was prompted by the board’s desire to hire someone with more appropriate experience.
“The board felt that while Susan is very good at what she does,” it’s necessary to hire someone with more comprehensive accounting experience, he said.
Ms. Pisano was appointed as a part-time treasurer in June 2008 at an annual salary of $40,000 that grew to $59,000 by the time she left the village.
Ms. Kagel left Southampton in 2008 for Brookhaven Town, where she served as commissioner of finance until earlier this year.
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