An issue as important to the community such as this, potentially impacting hundreds of Islip residents, should not be scheduled for an afternoon meeting when most Islip residents cannot attend.

The reason NY statutes requires towns to hold public hearings public hearings on major changes to the town code is to provide town residents with the opportunity to come before their elected officials and give their opinions and comments about proposed changes.

It would seem reasonable that such a significant action such as the elimination of the Human Services Department, a Department that has provided important and needed services to the Islip community for over 38 years, should not be taken lightly and that you would want to solicit as much public comment as you possibly can.

If rescheduling the public hearing is not possible then I would urge you to keep the pubic hearing open until May 22, the next night meeting of the Town Board, in order to allow Islip residents who could not take off from work to attend and make their comments known.