On Thursday February 26th, 2016, Smithtown Council Members voted unanimously to officially appoint Robert J. Murphy as Superintendent of Highways. The former Deputy Superintendent will oversea operations in the Highway Department through December 31st of this year. The long overdue promotion comes after rave reviews flooded the phone lines, regarding his performance in keeping roads safe in blizzard conditions.
“I’m excited that the Supervisor and the Town Board have given me their full confidence and trust moving forward. The efforts of our labor force this past winter reflects a proud new era for the highway department, ready to get the job done. We will continue collaborating with other departments, for ongoing operations on projects. This will save the Town money, while moving those jobs forward and build pride within the staff.” – Robert J. Murphy, Superintendent of Highways
Murphy has 25 years of civil engineering background, under his belt in both the private and public sectors. He served as a capital project manager for Suffolk County’s Building and Engineering Department for two years prior to his time working for Smithtown’s Highway Department. In 2012, he was hired as Deputy Superintendent of the Smithtown highway department through October 2015. Murphy assumed the responsibilities of managing a staff of 140 employees, responding to the calls of Smithtown’s 135,000 residents over 35,000 households, thriving as acting Superintendent, for the last four months. The Nesconset native has big plans to instill departmental pride, team performance and higher standards for quality services as the new norm, under his direction.