Smithtown budget would pierce tax cap, but some residents decry levy increase

Smithtown’s proposed $149.4 million budget for 2027 will require the town to pierce the state’s 2% tax cap, largely due to unfunded mandates, inflation and contractual obligations, but some residents said town officials could identify savings elsewhere. 

The town board held a public hearing Thursday at Town Hall to discuss whether to adopt a local law authorizing it to override the tax cap. The budget represents a 5.63% increase from last year’s $141.4 million spending plan. That budget's accompanying tax levy increased 5.87%. 

The town will vote on the budget at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3 at the Smithtown Senior Center, where more information to the public will be presented, town officials said.

In the budget note, Smithtown Supervisor Ed Wehrheim stated the spending plan increases are driven “almost entirely” by forces not under the town's control, among them unfunded New York State mandates, and not new programs or an expansion of town government.

“State policy mandates to health insurance, retirement and Tier 6 changes alone add nearly $3 million, while collectively bargained salaries increase another $1.87 million and rising solid waste and waste-to-energy costs add $410,000,” Wehrheim said.

He noted the town also must absorb the court-ordered LIPA tax shift, which adds approximately $23.12 to the average homeowner’s bill. "The other roughly $94, or about 5%, can be attributed to the remaining town budget," Wehrheim said. 

For the average home assessed at $5,500 in Smithtown, homeowners are projected to see a bill increase of approximately $117.65, or 6.44%, to maintain the town's workforce, services and operations, officials said. 

The four town council members’ individual salaries would increase 3% to $98,408. Wehrheim’s salary would climb 3.2%, to $166,869. He said the salary hikes were due to the cost of living and inflation.

But several residents at the hearing objected to aspects of the spending plan and the accompanying tax hike.  

Randy Weiner, of Smithtown, said residents could not afford to see their taxes go up. "What you're doing is asking us to pay for your security while taking more money away from us," Weiner said. 

Lynn Trupiano-O'Keefe, of Kings Park, who is running for New York State Assembly, said that instead of raising taxes, the town board needs to focus on "doing the hard work of cleaning up their books, finding fraud and waste to eliminate." 

Irwin Izen, of Commack, said the town needs to concentrate on ways to cut spending from within, such as by consolidating town departments. 

Wehrheim told residents that the alternative to the tax increase would be to cut vital services. The town, he said, has already eliminated $600,000 in full-time jobs and $400,000 in seasonals by replacing them with different programs.

“The only other way to come under that cap with the unfunded mandates … is to lose people,” Wehrheim said. “Last year, it would have been 42 highway workers and 210 seasonal workers. That’s what goes, and what goes with them? Snow removal. When you call our emergency operations center and say there’s two big oak trees across the road ... they’re going to tell you, ‘Call back Monday,' when they’re back on straight time.”

Wehrheim's budget note said the most significant state-mandated increases the town must bear include $1.9 million in New York State Health Insurance Program costs, a 10.33% increase, as well as $792,043 in required state retirement contributions, which climbed 10.12%.

Wehrheim added that “despite such pressures,” the town’s 2027 budget as currently constructed “will preserve all core town services while nearly cutting in half the town-controlled tax increase from last year.”

Last year, Smithtown pierced the tax cap, with Wehrheim noting at the time the town faced similar mandated costs, Newsday previously reported.

The town has also secured $32 million in grants over three years, “with another $18 million pending to help offset costs to taxpayers,” Wehrheim said in the budget statement.

Wehrheim and other Suffolk town supervisors earlier this month held a news conference and signed and sent a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul that sought "open dialogue" on adjusting the state tax cap formula and addressing "the growing financial pressures facing local government,” Newsday previously reported.