Smithtown's $99.4-million budget OK'd with no tax hikes
The Smithtown Town Board Thursday approved the supervisor's $99.4-million budget, which will not raise taxes for residents.
About $5 million in reserve funds will be used to offset $3.3 million in spending increases, including pensions and health care costs, as well as a $300,000 loss of tax revenue because of reassessment, Supervisor Patrick Vecchio said.
The town plans to bond out about $2 million in mandatory capital projects. Proposed general fund taxes will decrease by about $31 for the average home assessed at $6,000, essentially balanced by a similar rise in highway fund taxes.
Savings were also found by not filling jobs and delaying promotions, Vecchio said at the time he released the budget.
But before the meeting, two councilmen, Robert Creighton and Kevin Malloy, said the staff is so lean, any further cuts in some areas could mean cuts in services.
'Democrats say this is a misuse of taxpayer funds' Nassau Republicans awarded over $1 million in taxpayer-funded legal contracts to the one-man law firm of Sheharyar Ali, a longtime GOP ally. Ali's father is an adviser to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa and Newsday Nassau County politics reporter Bahar Ostadan have the story.
'Democrats say this is a misuse of taxpayer funds' Nassau Republicans awarded over $1 million in taxpayer-funded legal contracts to the one-man law firm of Sheharyar Ali, a longtime GOP ally. Ali's father is an adviser to Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. NewsdayTV's Ken Buffa and Newsday Nassau County politics reporter Bahar Ostadan have the story.
