Late last month, officials in both Riverhead and Southold presented preliminary budget proposals for 2025. At the time, Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard described the plan “as a basic, no-frills budget,” despite a 7.9% hike over last year that would increase general fund spending by $4.1 million compared to 2024. Around the same time, Supervisor Al Krupski revealed the Southold

Town Board’s budget plans for the year ahead, which — in stark contrast to the 0% tax increase that came with last year’s budget — proposes a 6.44% hike and a $5.9 million spending increase. The common denominator is that both proposals far exceed the New York State-mandated “cap” on annual municipal tax hikes.

Enacted in 2012, the annual cap is calculated based on the amount of taxes levied — as opposed to actually collected — in a given municipality and seeks to limit those increases to a maximum of 2% per household per year. While that may sound like solid fiscal watchdogging by state officials, the legislation is notably lacking in teeth.

In order to override, or “pierce,” the cap, town officials must first pass “a local law … that allows for the tax levy limit to be exceeded,” according to the state’s tax website. Passage of that law requires 60% approval of Town Board members, which, in both Riverhead and Southold, equates to a simple majority of voting members. The law allowing the cap to be pierced and the budget that does the piercing can be enacted and approved on the same day.

Both Mr. Hubbard and Mr. Krupski — who are each serving their first terms in the supervisor’s seat — said some responsibility for next year’s proposed increases belongs to previous administrations.

“In years past, it’s always great to put up a budget with no tax increase, but you’re going to pay for it somewhere,” Mr. Hubbard said last month, adding that the proverbial can had been kicked down the road “one or two too many times, and … now we’re at the end of the road.”

In a letter to his fellow Town Board members prior to presenting the 2025 budget, Mr. Krupski wrote that the town’s “fiscal position is strong, thanks to past careful management of growth in government departments.” But he added that last year’s 0% tax rate increase “didn’t address the reality of scheduled or forecasted increases in payroll, insurance, department services, retirement contributions and overall cost of supplies and materials.”

But despite being mostly bark, the state tax cap does at least nip at the heels of local officials by requiring that public hearings be held before passage of the required law and the budget itself. Given the myriad complexities of municipal governance, it is unrealistic to expect that many major changes will be enacted ahead of the Nov. 20 deadline for budget adoption, but the public hearings do give voters a valuable opportunity to glean insights into how these spending plans — which account for the salaries of elected officials — are calculated each year.

Southold’s public budget hearings will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 6, at 4 and 7 p.m. at Town Hall. Riverhead officials said they plan to schedule hearings, but as of press time, have yet to announce any dates.

The post Editorial: Tipping the tax ‘cap’ appeared first on The Suffolk Times.

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