Spending And Taxes Up In 'No Frills' Budget
Saying she inherited a fiscal legacy that left little choice but to propose across-the-board tax increases for 1997, East Hampton Town Supervisor Cathy Lester handed in a tentative budget Monday calling for spending to jump from the $27.6 million anticipated this year to $29.5 million in 1997.
An overall 10.84-percent increase in the tax rate on properties outside East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages, which covers about 80 percent of the town, and a 14.28-percent increase for properties inside the villages is anticipated.
That means the owner of a house in Springs assessed at $7,000, considered "typical" by town assessors, would pay $17.57 for each $100 of the house's assessed value, or roughly $1,230 in town taxes next year. This is an increase of $120 from $1,110 this year.
Echoes From The Past
The owner of a similarly assessed house in East Hampton Village, which levies its own taxes for police, highway, and other services, would pay $8.07 per $100, or $565 altogether, a $71 increase.
Supervisor Lester said her first budget for the town was in some respects the result of budgets crafted for the last nine years by former Supervisor Tony Bullock, her colleague and fellow Democrat.
"Tony was a tight budget manager, and I agree with him that you shouldn't artificially pad the budget. You can't ask people to pay higher taxes so that you can carry a fund balance from year to year," said Supervisor Lester.
No Padding
Because the 1996 budget had so little padding that the town now has to borrow $500,000 to cover certain deficits, Ms. Lester explained that additional revenue to pay back the loan would have to be raised in 1997.
Filed with the Town Clerk late Monday afternoon, Supervisor Les t er's budget will be worked over by the remaining four Town Board members, three of them comprising the Republican majority. Five budget review sessions are scheduled, the first on Monday at 1 p.m. in the Town Hall conference room. By law, the Town Board must hold a public hearing in time to adopt a final budget by Nov. 20.
"I want to hear Cathy explain her rationale and her priorities and her calculations, and I think you will probably see some alternative proposals come later," said Councilman Len Bernard, who has served at times as the majority's numbers cruncher.
Sanitation And Police
Mr. Bernard hinted that this year he would again find fault with the Democrats' philosophy on recycling spending.
He claimed that the budget request from David Paolelli, who runs the recycling and composting plants, did not include new workers, while Police Chief Thomas Scott had asked for four new police officers. Ms. Lester's budget would give the Sanitation Department six additional workers. The Police Department would see only two, plus two new dispatchers.
Councilman Bernard said he also would inquire about an increase in pay for the town budget officer, Michael Haran. It represents a five-hour expansion of his workweek, when many other town workers would still be paid for a 30-hour week, Mr. Bernard said.
"There appear to be certain programs that are fair game for substantial increases and others that aren't. I'd like her to explain why," he said.
"Chief Scott, like most department heads, came in asking for more than they need," said Supervisor Lester, adding that the chief's idea of increased police patrols in Wainscott and Northwest Woods could be "phased in over a couple of years."
Again with an echo of Mr. Bullock, Supervisor Lester called hers a "no-frills" budget. She agreed with Mr. Bernard that Chief Scott had made a compelling argument for more officers, but said some restraint was needed.
Her budget message noted there had been no additions to the number of police since 1987 while calls for help had gone up 11 percent.
Sanitation and Police Departments aside, Ms. Lester said she followed Mr. Bullock's example by denying requests for more full-time workers but granting some money for part-timers and expanded work weeks, which avoids the cost of benefits and overtime.
Solid Waste Debate
A major component of the tax increase are those recommendations in the Supervisor's budget that comply with the Town Solid Waste Management Plan. The total 1997 appropriation for recycling and composting would be $5.1 million and the increase in the townwide garbage tax would be a hefty 40.66 percent.
The second largest nugget in the budget is for the Highway Department. The Supervisor expects it to need nearly $3.4 million next year compared to this year's $3.2 million. The highway tax, included in the town tax, would represent about $2.63 per $100 of assessed value, outside the villages.
The Solid Waste Management Plan, adopted in Mr. Bullock's administration, has been dismantled to some degree by the Republican majority on the Town Board this year, in part by not replacing fired workers and by cutting back on the baling of recyclables, in order to save money. As a result, the amount of recyclable material the town is able to sell has diminished. Market prices have also decreased.
Deficit Explained
Not only revenue from the sale of recyclables has continued to go down, but revenue from carters' so-called tipping fees. The board will borrow $400,000 to plug the latest recycling deficit. (The additional $100,000 to be borrowed will cover last winter's overspending for snow removal.)
Mr. Haran, the town budget officer, said the recycling deficit also came from renting equipment for the composting plant when the Town Board was hesitant to buy it and from trucking compostables out of town for three months when the plant was closed for repainting.
Through the end of this year, total solid waste spending was expected to be about $4.3 million. Add to that a $200,000 shortfall in revenue and the same in unexpected costs and you have the current $400,000 operating deficit, said Mr. Haran.
The solid waste district covers the recycling and composting plants off Springs-Fireplace Road and the Montauk transfer plant, paying off the roughly $10.5 million debt for their construction and the ongoing and equally expensive task of permanently closing the two landfills.