Diverting the C.P.F.
A bill awaiting Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s signature that was recently approved by the State Legislature could signal the beginning of the end of the much-vaunted community preservation fund program. The proposal is to allow local governments to take up to 20 percent of the money for water quality projects, including new and upgraded sewage treatment plants. Doing more about water pollution is a good thing; this bill is the wrong way to fund it.
Its chief backers are State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle and Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., who piggybacked the proposal onto a reasonable 20-year extension of the fund, which is set to expire in 2030. At a minimum, the two proposals should have been de-coupled, allowing them to be considered separately in the participating towns and voted on in the November general election as independent referendums. Since that did not happen, Mr. Cuomo’s veto is essential.
Long eyed by politicians as a potential and pain-free source of cash for all sorts of things, the community preservation fund has withstood most assaults. Should it become law, this measure, however, would chip away at one of its fundamental precepts, that the initiative is independent of the rest of government services. If local officials want water projects, they should do so through ordinary bonding, tax credits for septic upgrades, or permissive referendums.
It is outrageous that Mr. Thiele, who has recently expressed the opinion that the fund should not be tapped to buy buildings, would be eager to see money diverted to projects that on Long Island have been marked historically by corruption, cost overages, and poor environmental record-keeping. To think that more money will make this any better is to enter a fairyland fantasy. That there is a problem is hinted at by a caveat tucked into the bill, that the fund cannot be used for any project that would increase development. This is hardly assuring nor is it meaty enough to function as intended.
Given that in East Hampton Town the only proposed sewage project nearing shovel-ready status is a head-scratching one in downtown Montauk, officials here need to think carefully before agreeing to allow themselves — or future governments — to skim so much from the preservation fund for ill-thought-out boondoggles.
Before East Hampton goes looking for new ways to spend the C.P.F., it should try to stop development of all remaining vacant parcels of land in the town, take additional steps to assure crop farming on already-preserved acreage, protect more historic sites, and remove structures in environmentally sensitive areas. Once that is done and there is no land at all left to buy, maybe then, and only then, will it be time to talk about taking that 20 percent off the top.