Three Village voters defeat tax to support Stony Brook's Long Island Museum

A special annual tax to partially fund the Long Island Museum in Stony Brook went down to a resounding defeat in school elections Tuesday.

The tax, which would have raised $500,000 annually, was rejected by a more than 2-1 margin by Three Village school district voters. Museum officials had said taxes on the average home would have increased about $34 annually.

In Southold, that school district's voters approved a $183,155 annual tax for the Southold Historical Museum. Taxes on the average home will increase $35 per year. The proposition passed, 329-144.

Both museums sought to use a provision of state education law that allows museums to seek tax revenue, just as many public libraries do.

The Long Island Museum tax was defeated, with 1,376 residents voting yes and 3,007 voting no, according to results posted on the Three Village schools website. The school budget also failed, albeit by a much smaller margin, 2,051 yes and 2,340 no. It was one of at least five school budgets defeated on Long Island Tuesday.

Museum co-executive director Sarah Abruzzi said Wednesday she couldn't explain the proposition's defeat.

"It’s not really in line with the lived experience we have here with the community," Abruzzi said in a telephone interview. "We’ve always had tremendous support from the community.”

She added it was "premature" to consider trying again next year to put the tax on the ballot. “We have our work cut out for us getting back to business … and working on additional funding streams,” she said.

Museum officials had said the tax would have covered about one-sixth of the museum's $3 million annual budget. Tax revenue would have stabilized museum finances amid declining donations and uncertainty surrounding federal aid for cultural groups.

Officials said residents would have received free museum memberships if the tax had passed. Family memberships are $95 annually.

Peter St. Germaine, president of the Three Village Civic Association, said many residents were not familiar with the state law authorizing the tax. He blamed the museum tax's defeat on “a lack of transparency with the law itself and why they need the money."

"No one knows why they’re able to do this and what it means in the big picture,” he said Wednesday in a phone interview.

St. Germaine said he voted for the school budget but against the museum tax. He thinks some residents came to the polls mainly to defeat the museum tax — and also voted no on the school budget.

“It would seem that the museum vote dragged down the school vote,” he said.

Abruzzi said it wasn't clear whether the tax defeat would necessitate staff or budget cuts. The museum, renowned for its collections of vintage horse-drawn carriages and Early American art, employs about 50 people and sees about 25,000 visitors annually.

Abruzzi said she wasn't sure what the museum could have done to change the vote's outcome.

“We feel very confident and comfortable with the message we put out,” she said. “We did our best to educate the public and answer as many questions as we could. I guess it wasn’t enough.”

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.