Southold supe: Town's in good fiscal shape

Southold Town is sound financially despite the continued sluggish economy, Supervisor Scott Russell announced in his recent State of the Town address.

"We're holding our own," Russell told about 20 people at town hall. "We're in good shape."

Among achievements of the past year Russell cited on Thursday are amended codes to allow more leniency with owner-occupied accessory apartments for family or low-income rentals, and a first-ever town noise pollution law.

He also touted the newly expanded dog park and maintaining a Moody's rating of Aa2, which allows the town to borrow at an interest rate of less than 2 percent.

Russell also praised the preservation of open space and farmland to maintain Southold's rural characteristic, despite less money coming into the town's Community Preservation Fund because of fewer home sales.

"Now is not the time to be skittish," Russell said of purchasing preserved land, with real estate prices at affordable lows.

Goals for 2012 include more town meetings in each of the hamlets, adopting state-required stormwater drainage initiatives, a new property maintenance code allowing the town to clean up private property and bill the homeowner or bank if it is a foreclosure, and an economically strong resolution for the vacant Capital One building on Route 25.

Russell also said he would like to partner with high school video teams to bring more educational programming to the government channel, and noted he is excited about a redesign of the town's website.

But resident Benjamin Schwartz, a Web designer, said the town should have hired local Web creators instead of an out-of-state firm.