Riverhead board votes to bust tax cap

Riverhead Town officials, who have grappled for years with chronic deficits, adopted a 2016 budget on Tuesday that exceeds New York State's tax cap.

Supervisor Sean Walter's $54.3 million spending plan will increase the money raised in taxes next year by $2.1 million or 5.1 percent.

Long Island town officials this budget season faced a 0.73-percent cap on tax-levy increases, the lowest since state lawmakers passed the cap in 2012.

The Riverhead Town Board voted 4-1 Tuesday night to exceed the cap. The budget passed by the same margin. Councilwoman Jodi Giglio cast both dissenting votes.

"I proposed several cuts and additional revenue," Giglio said at the meeting. "I would have liked to have worked with the board and garner support to bring this 5 percent increase down a bit. I just can't support this."

Riverhead officials have spent millions in reserves in the past several years to fill multimillion-dollar deficits without raising taxes. Riverhead's reserves shrank from $7.6 million in 2012 to $3.6 million in 2014, according to the state comptroller.

Other board members said Tuesday that a tax hike was difficult to avoid.

"After 20 years of having a flat tax in this town, it's a good thing," Councilman James Wooten said of the increase.

"Can't get any more meat off this budget," Councilman John Dunleavy said.

Walter defeated Giglio in a contentious election for supervisor Nov. 3. Despite their split on the tax-cap and budget votes, they publicly reconciled at the meeting.

"I have a lot of respect for Sean," Giglio said. "He won the election. We are truly going to be working together for the better for the residents of the Town of Riverhead.

Walter voted in favor of an $80,000 budget adjustment funding two of Giglio's priorities in 2016: an additional code enforcement officer and new building-department software.

Walter and Giglio indicated the budget change, which passed 5-0, was meant as a show of amity. The bill allocated $30,000 for a part-time code-enforcement officer and $50,000 for a computer system that allows town officials to track rental permits. Giglio said an expected doubling of rental-permit revenue would cover the spending.

"It's a Christmas miracle," Walter said.