Huntington's 2019 budget plan adds rangers, changes recycling program

Huntington's proposed 2019 budget includes provisions to hire more part-time park rangers and what officials called a cost-saving return to dual-stream recycling.

The town board held a public hearing Tuesday on the proposed $199.7 million 2019 budget, which raises taxes by 2.54 percent, under the state tax levy cap. The town board must pass a budget by Nov. 20.

Supervisor Chad Lupinacci said the town’s finances are robust and operations working smoothly. He hailed initiatives to share services with other towns, including its animal shelter project with Babylon, the recent AAA bond reaffirmation by credit ratings agencies, and renewable energy projects, as well as livestreaming of town meetings.

"The preliminary budget falls within the state mandated tax cap," Lupinacci said. Looking ahead in 2019, he said, "we'll continue to focus on renewable energy and ways of implementing sustainable programming at all town facilities."

The tentative budget, which is up 2.8 percent from the current $194.2 million plan, raises taxes $49 a year for the average homeowner.

While the state-mandated tax cap is set at 2 percent for next year's budgets, the town was able to carry over $371,000 in savings from 2018, which combined with a tax base growth factor of $407,000, accounts for the additional 0.54 percent permissible levy growth over the tax cap, town officials said.

Collective bargaining salary increases for all union employees and a 9 percent increase in medical benefits costs account for some of the town's spending increases, town officials have said. 

The shift to dual stream recycling, in which items are separated by type, comes from a "dramatic and downward shift in worldwide commodity markets for recyclables," environmental waste management director John Clark said.

Beginning in January, the town will no longer allow all recyclables to be combined for curbside pickup. Instead, "we will be picking up paper one week and glass, plastic and cans the following week," Clark said. "If we stayed with single-stream recycling this year we probably would have increased our processing costs by $950,000," he added. "By moving to dual-stream we hope to limit that to $250,000."

Peter Sammis, the town's director of Public Safety, said that department wants to double its part-time park ranger program from six rangers to 12, using funding available after a supervisor retired. "We get a lot more bang for our buck from a park ranger than a security guard in the field," he said.

Ernest Fazio, chairman of the Long Island Metro Business Action, said during public comment that he was concerned about the LIPA power plant in Northport, the subject of mediation between the utility and the town over a dispute about property tax payments.

"If we lose it's going to cost everybody in this room a lot of money. That's a very negative thing on the town," Fazio said. "I just want you to take into consideration if you can get a deal, take it."

Huntington resident Daniel Karpen said the town needs to increase zoning application fees to raise revenue.