Funding Preservation
Voters here and across the state approved every ballot proposition in November that mentioned environmental protection. East Hampton and Southampton now are deciding where to spend the $5 million each approved for open space purchases, and New York State is deciding exactly what to do with the $1.75 billion that can be made available under the Clean Water, Clean Air Act.
Along with $100 million in the State Environmental Protection Fund this year and some millions more from the Suffolk County quarter-cent sales tax for drinking water protection, as well as other sources, 1997 promises to be a banner year for preservation.
East Hampton's first open space purchase of the year is shaping up to be a 24-acre parcel of low-lying land near Soak Hides Dreen at the head of Three Mile Harbor, for $667,000. The town is expected to contract with the Watchtower, a religious organization which was bequeathed the property, shortly. Southampton is negotiating for the development rights to four farmland parcels in Water Mill, Bridgehampton, and Sagaponack. And both towns have indicated they will continue to use operating funds for smaller purchases.
All of this is to the good. But the money is nowhere near enough to guarantee that our green places, wetlands, and dunes will be forever wild.
It is important to note that not every dollar approved in the name of open space winds up where voters expect it to go. While the proceeds from the towns' $5 million borrowing will be safe, there will be millions more from property taxes and other sources that are not "bulletproof," in the words of State Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr.
A lesson should be learned from County Executive Robert Gaffney's ability to take $25 million from the quarter-cent levy for pine barrens purchases to balance the 1996 county budget, using a loophole in the law. It could happen again; voters approved another ballot proposition in November that will allow up to 10 percent of quarter-cent tax proceeds to go for tax stabilization.
The ink had not dried on this editorial when the word from Albany was that Gov. George Pataki was ready to follow his Suffolk colleague's suit. It was reported Tuesday that the Governor intends to borrow millions under the $1.75-billion Clean Water, Clean Air Act to pay the salaries of state employees who administer the programs it will fund. State Democratic leaders say that although the wording of the proposition on the bond act makes such use of its proceeds legal, the Governor had assured the public that administrative costs would come from state operating sources.
Assemblyman Thiele said last week he was considering whether to introduce legislation that would guarantee that funds for open space are used for intended purposes. Provision for such "designated" funds was part of an unsuccessful bill last year.
Because the market value of open lands fluctuates not only with the overall economy but as a result of the restrictions placed on them by government, the costs of preservation are highly speculative.
One local gauge of the true cost of keeping the South Fork the place we know comes from estimates made for Southampton farmland last spring. The chairman of its Agricultural Advisory Committee suggested it would take $20 million to buy development rights - not title - to the town's remaining farmland. But only $2 million, a 10th, was allotted for farmland in the successful $5 million referendum in November.
The gaps have been recognized. Southampton came up with another way to raise funds for agricultural lands. It established a townwide tax district, through which it will get 20 cents for every $100 of assessed property and, by that means, raise an additional $18.2 million over the next 22 years.
Although East Hampton Town officials have all kinds of administrative hassles to contend with as they face the year ahead, they are starting to make new open space purchases and seeking grants for other parcels. Southampton has found an additional means toward meeting the land preservation goal. Its tax district is a model we should follow.