EDITORIAL: Remember to turn the ballot over

On the new paper ballots that New Yorkers will encounter tomorrow, propositions will be on the flip side. There aren't many: only in the towns of Brookhaven and Shelter Island, the City of Glen Cove and the Village of Hempstead. So if you live in one of those, be sure to turn the ballot over.

The three items in Brookhaven are especially important. The town board put aside political differences and voted unanimously to ask voter approval of a property tax-rate cap, a spending cap and a limit on debt service.

Supervisor Mark Lesko prepared his new budget as if the voters approved all three. The preliminary budget comes in under the tax-rate and spending caps, and it makes a start on a five-year phase-in of debt reduction. The debt cap would be 15 percent of either general-fund revenues or spending, whichever is less. Debt service is now at 24 percent of spending.

Given its huge size and sharply declining revenue, Brookhaven is a grand testing lab for caps. Vote yes on all three.

In Glen Cove, voters are asked to increase the terms of the mayor and City Council members, starting with those elected in 2011, from two to four years. On Shelter Island, despite the opposition of the supervisor, proposals do the same for the terms of supervisor and highway superintendent.

This page supports four-year terms for municipal executives, to cut down on the politics and allow more time for governing. Flip the ballot and vote yes. hN