Government Briefs 03.12.15

East Hampton Town

Contractor License Crackdown

A crackdown on unlicensed contractors working in East Hampton Town resulted in the arraignment on Monday of a dozen workers who had failed to obtain or carry with them the required town license.

Those who obtained the license after being cited were fined $350. Those who had licenses but not at the work site, as is required, got a $200 fine. The cases of several defendants were adjourned to a later court date, and those of others were transferred from the name of an employee that was cited to the business owner. Those who fail to rectify the situation face a $1,000 fine.

In a statement this week, Betsy Bambrick, the town’s director of ordinance enforcement, said that East Hampton’s home improvement contractors law and licensing requirement is designed to protect both homeowners and responsible contractors. The department will continue its focus on bringing unlicensed contractors into compliance, she said.

Septic Upgrade Incentives

Following a request to New York State by the East End Supervisors and Mayors Association for funding to help homeowners upgrade sub-par septic systems in order to better protect groundwater and surface water bodies, East Hampton Town’s attorneys are designing a septic upgrade incentive program.

Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell announced Tuesday that, though the source of funding is still unclear, the town is working out the details of the incentive program. It is likely to be similar to a successful program employed by East Hampton some years ago, which provided rebates to homeowners to help cover the cost of in-ground oil tank removal.

In a letter to state legislators last month, the group of East End elected officials said that water pollution from nitrogen in wastewater is at “near crisis” levels, and asked for $100 million to provide rebates and no-interest loans to help property owners install enhanced septic treatment systems that better reduce nitrogen emissions.