Port Jefferson Village OKs budget that increases taxes 2 percent

Port Jefferson Village officials have approved a budget that increases taxes by a little less than 2 percent, Mayor Margot Garant said recently.

The 2018-19 budget boosts spending by 2 percent, from the current year’s $10,409,009 to $10,642,146 next year, Garant said last Wednesday.

She said the budget sets aside $107,439 in a restricted reserve account to prepare for an anticipated loss of revenue from payments in lieu of taxes made by the Long Island Power Authority on the Port Jefferson power plant. Officials are discussing a possible settlement with LIPA in which the utility would reduce its payments on the plant over a period of years, Garant said. Brookhaven Town recently announced an agreement in principle to reduce LIPA’s payments to the town; that agreement does not affect the village.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.