Having already assembled a planning reform advisory group, this week Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst promised members of the Bridgehampton Citizens Advisory Committee that she will strive towards creating a more public planning process, where residents can weigh in on development plans and even planned development districts before they get too far down the pike, a criticism with town planning that developers and activists alike have expressed in recent years.

On Monday, August 23 Throne-Holst raised the issue after Bridgehampton CAC chairman Fred Cammann argued that planned development districts (PDD) have “not served Bridgehampton, or really any other place well at all.”

This summer, in the face of several PDD proposals in front of the town board — including one for a mixed-use development in Tuckahoe and another in Water Mill — the town has been criticized for using the zoning tool, which allows developers to forgo seeking a formal change in zoning to accomplish their project and instead asks the town board to overlay new zoning over their parcels for their specific proposal. The concept of the PDD law is that these projects would have to offer a significant community benefit in turn.

This Thursday, the board will host a public hearing that would change the PDD section of the town code to conform with New York State law in regards to what those public benefits should be.

Throne-Holst called the change in legislation “a good beginning,” but added she would like to see the planning reform advisory group, made up of civic group members, planning board members, local attorneys and planners, address the planning process in the town as a whole, with the issue of PDDs at the top of their agenda.

Last year, said Throne-Holst, the town started allowing pre-submission conferences, similar to public hearings, on large projects to hear input from the community before a project was so far down the pike that meaningful change became impossible.

“The idea is before a developer spends thousands of dollars and time and effort in putting together a plan to the best of their ability, the community has a chance to look at the basic idea and weigh in on it,” said Throne-Holst. “It gives the developer the chance to weigh that and develop their plans accordingly, or not, but at least it gives the public the chance to weigh in at an early stage.”

Throne-Holst said she would like to see a similar process set up for proposed PDDs, during which any public benefits would be vetted. The advisory group is also looking at developing a codified list of desired community benefits, hamlet by hamlet, where residents of each community could weigh in on the community benefits they would like to see in their region of the town if a PDD is proposed by a developer.

Creating a clear-cut timeline for how that process, and the planning process in general, is carried out by the town is also a priority, she said.

“It may or may not be able to be done that way, but that is a small laundry list of what we are looking at,” she said.

Cammann said his concern was it seems the PDD process looks at a specific proposal and its community benefits rather than the town understanding what public benefits they would like to see developed.

“The zoning, good or bad, is what we have all become pretty used to and, when a PDD proposal comes in, it is not clear to us that it is beneficial to our community,” he said.

“What was missing, and I think this is what needs to be codified, there needs to be a discussion about whether the benefit should be a specific community benefit or a benefit to the whole town,” said CAC member Janice Delano.

Throne-Holst reiterated that the focus right now is looking at the needs of each hamlet, and that at any pre-submission hearing members of the affected hamlet, or the town as a whole would have the opportunity to weigh in with their concerns.

CAC member Jeffrey Vogel added that he would like to see the CACs have a greater voice in the process, and as of now, he feels often they weigh in, but are not heard.

On the other side of the coin, referencing the stalled condo project at the former Bulova Watchcase Factory in Sag Harbor, CAC member Richard Bruce said he would like to see a process where good projects are shepherded through the town more quickly to encourage good development.

Throne-Holst noted that what is viewed as a good project by some, is often a project detested by others, and whether or not it is a good project tends to be subjective.

For example, with the proposed Tuckahoe PDD, which would create a grocery store, several retail stores and apartments, some affordable in nature, Throne-Holst said she has heard mixed reviews from community members.

“Some people hate it, some people say we need a grocery store in our backyard, we need accessible and affordable retail,” she said.

“I think the end result has to be we create a process that supports what you would call a good application,” she continued. “A process that allows a good application to move forward expeditiously.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

Local towns, including Southampton, stood up for their constituents this week, deciding to file a suit against the state to fight the unwise, and possibly illegal, tax Albany approved to help pay off the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s debt. That the state should think the MTA’s gross negligence is something the small towns of Eastern Long Island should pay for is insulting. Considering the lack of service we receive from the MTA’s local arm, the Long Island Rail Road, we should be the last place they should be looking for support.

We are thankful for our town representatives — and local sate representative Fred Thiele — for their efforts. Here is something that will actually save us real money.

If you think of this in real cash, a small business with a $500,000 annual payroll, would be spending an aditional $1,700 in taxes for services they don’t really enjoy. An extra $1,700 each year, in these tough economic times, can be a struggle for many small businesses who are already operating on an extremely thin margin. Frankly, it’s an onus we don’t think we should be carrying, nor can afford to carry.

We look forward to a state budget, which is slated to be passed today, that will include a modified amount in tax for the MTA bailout. Our druthers is that we pay nothing towards an agency that has demonstrated nothing but incompetence and contempt for the people it chooses to abuse on the East End.

Popularity: 1% [?]

By Georgia Suter

Promising more open governments and  more aggressive planning for the future, the newly elected supervisors for Southampton and East Hampton towns addressed a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons on Monday evening. Centrally located for both towns at the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse on the Sag Harbor-Bridgehampton Turnpike, the forum was intended to give the public a chance to hear how the two leaders will work to revamp their respective governments which have been battered by economic challenges.

Bill Wilkinson, who was elected East Hampton town supervisor in early November, was the first to speak, focusing on his administration’s agenda during his first sixty days in office. Among top priorities, Wilkinson noted that he plans to bring more transparency to the administration.

“The first thing I’m going to try to do is live up to a campaign commitment of open government,” he stated, adding that very little will actually be rehearsed at the administration’s board meetings. Wilkinson also emphasized the importance of bringing more participation from the community into the town’s meetings, noting in the future at least one work session a month will be held on a Saturday in order to allow the participation of a majority of East Hampton community members that are weekend homeowners.

“The most important thing that I’m addressing on a day to day basis is the $28 million dollar deficit, it’s a daily problem,” he noted. Wilkinson did touch upon problems with the former administration’s financial choices, noting they failed to categorize the allocation of funds appropriately, which resulted in an “intermingling of funds.” Wilkinson’s administration is now in the process of looking more closely at past expenditures to determine how much money was allocated to various projects, such as the Community Preservation Fund and the renovation project of East Hampton’s town hall.

Moving into notable accomplishments for the new administration, Wilkinson noted that East Hampton Town and the East Hampton Police Benevolent Association reached an agreement on a six-year contract spanning from 2007 to 2012, in the first days of being in office. The agreement was reached after a five-hour bargaining session with Wilkinson, P.B.A. representatives and the arbitrator in late February. In terms of community outreach efforts, the town has also been making steps to build more conversation and interaction with East Hampton residents. Wilkinson explained the town is reaching out to the artist community to build stronger relationships with artists because “they’ve been ignored.” Additionally, the town recently held a forum to discuss the best ways to manage the local deer population. The forum brought community members together from deer refuge and animal rights groups, hunting groups and from the wildlife preservation.  Wilkinson concluded his remarks by reiterating perhaps his most pressing agenda for the coming term; “it’s finance, finance, finance for the next sixty days.”

Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst started by noting that “Bill and I share an enthusiasm for the job, and an enthusiasm for doing it differently.” Throne-Holst began by dividing her administration’s agenda into two categories: partnerships and planning. She explained she hopes to “open up and partner with the community in bringing an agenda forward,” adding that immediate responsiveness of the board is also going to be a top priority.

“Whatever your issue is, we will get back to you in 24 hours,” she promised.

In attempt to bring the community into the day to day processes of the town, Throne-Holst noted that “We’ve invited different community groups that represent various parts of the town into our meetings, to meet with us.”

She also expressed the importance of planning and of communication and collaboration between different areas of the East End: “What’s happening in Hampton Bays may be helpful to something that is going on in Sag Harbor.”

At a recent luncheon with the mayor of East Hampton, Throne-Holst said they began talking about sharing services between East End municipalities, such as purchasing for highway needs. “We’re working on changing the paradigm under which municipalities plan,” she stated.

Among specific agenda items for future months, Throne-Holst stated the town will be putting together a planning reform group, organizing different advisory committees such as the Green Committee for Sustainability, and revamping the budget and finance committee so that it has improved goals–among them, devising a more organic budget proposal and a more detailed revenue projection. She also described the proposed organization of a police management committee, which will work to alleviate the years of disagreement between the top level of police management and the working level.

Among notable achievements for the Town for Southampton is a revamped website that has a more inclusionary feel. Community members can view current issues the town board is working on. The site also has information for the community such as the location of recycling centers, and there’s an online forum which provides a place for open and ongoing discussion.

“Our goal is really to revamp how the town does business with the public,” said Throne-Holst.

Popularity: 1% [?]

We were struck this week by the promise of truly open governments in both East Hampton and Southampton towns. Not governments that simply offer transparency — which every government is ultimately obliged to provide — but ones that encourage active participation from the public; and not simply suffer it.

On Monday night Supervisor Bill Wilkinson of East Hampton and Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst of Southampton made an obvious effort to portray themselves as something new, people who were anxious to work with the public. Both appear to come from the position that the public has been deeply wounded by their predecessors and they have been elected to privide a healing salve. That their predecessors, under pressure from the public, closed up.

Mr. Wilkinson said his first order of business was to live up to a campaign promise to provide open government, and said board meetings would not be “rehearsed.”

This will be a relief, as many times board meetings — whether they are town board, village board or school board — have the air of plays being acted out by a cast that already knows its lines by heart. Hardly the stuff to make us feel like our elected officials are being spontaneous, open or honest about their discussions.

And Ms. Throne-Holst has said local community gropups should feel welcome to bring their concerns to her.

We are happy to say that both Mr. Wilkinson and Ms. Throne-Holst appear to be on the right track. In addition to participating in Monday’s forum, they have both been making good on their promises. The members of the East Hampton Town Board met in an open meeting with their constituents recently and Ms. Throne-Holst has been actively reaching out to, and meeting with, all the local community advisory committees.

For all of us, we hope they continue this openness, even when the inevitable public pressure comes upon them.

Popularity: 1% [?]

John Linder, the chairman of the Sag Harbor Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC), wants to ensure large developments are not railroaded through the Southampton Town planning department without ample public input from town residents, he said during a meeting last Friday.

Linder would like the CAC, a civic organization regulated by Southampton Town, to be allowed to comment on issues like the development of the former Bulova Watchcase Factory, which is located in the Village of Sag Harbor and therefore is not subject to the CAC’s jurisdiction.

To this end, during the committee’s monthly meeting on January 8, Linder suggested the committee focus its efforts on the town’s planning department and board, with hopes of gently expanding the role of CACs in development issues on the East End.

The recommendations followed a meeting with Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne Holst, who will host regular sessions with CAC chairs to take the pulse of the town at large.

“Anna, to her credit, seems to be welcoming and open to all this input,” said Linder. Frank Zappone, Throne-Holst’s deputy supervisor who will oversee the town’s interaction with the CACs, has asked that all CACs come up with a list of issues they would like the town to focus on in the coming year, said Linder.

Linder suggested the CAC concentrate on improving planning and zoning processes in the town by weighing in on developments in their hamlets at the beginning of the process rather than at the end, when changes become more difficult.

“We want to establish a culture that stresses planning over processing,” said Linder, citing the Town of East Hampton’s policy on public input early on in an application as a model for the Town of Southampton.

Linder said he would like to see a member of the board assigned to a geographic area and available to community leaders during the course of an application. He also said he would like to see professional standards set for board members, with performance evaluations and legislation in place that would allow for the removal of a board member if just cause was established.

“I am not sure I like that,” said CAC member Eric Cohen.

Linder also suggested the town re-examine the zoning for each hamlet, using community input, and the establishment of affordable housing guidelines for each community based on the hamlet’s wants and needs. He said there should be a focus on the town’s code enforcement department, and to ensure it is doing its job.

Shana Conron said she believed the Sag Harbor CAC should concentrate its efforts particularly on code enforcement and making changes to the planning process.

“I would rather work on two projects that may become a reality,” she said.

Linder agreed that while the rest of the CACs in Southampton Town may focus on this general list of priorities, he would also like to see Sag Harbor concentrate on code enforcement and development.

“This is a good beginning, because it will create a forum to address these issues,” said Linder. “What I am looking to do with this opportunity is, one, gently expand the CAC border and borderline issues so that, for example, we could get more involved in a project like Bulova; if the hope now is that someone will find new financing and bring a project to Sag Harbor that everyone wanted – one with mixed uses.”

The Sag Harbor CAC opposed the approved, and now stalled, luxury condo project at the historic watchcase factory, hoping for mixed uses at the site as well as affordable housing.

Linder said he would also like to revisit establishing affordable housing on the Sag Harbor-Bridgehampton Turnpike, although he admitted that budgetary concerns from the federal government down to the village government could make that project an uphill battle.

“I don’t know how this can happen, but we can at least begin a process,” he said.

In other CAC news, Cohen suggested the committee consider expanding its borders to include members of the Sagaponack community that disbanded their CAC after the hamlet became a village.

“We are called the Sag Harbor CAC, but we don’t really represent Sag Harbor,” said Cohen. “I was thinking we might want to change our name to the South Sag Harbor CAC – we might get more members that way.”

Linder said he would like to reach out to the community first to see if there was interest.

“I don’t know that we need to test this,” said Cohen. “They are unrepresented now, so if they join, great. I think it is really who we represent anyway.”

Popularity: 1% [?]

After a contentious budget process in the midst of an election, the Southampton Town Board adopted the final 2010 budget on Friday, November 20. Despite revisions to the fiscal plan, the board is still increasing the tax rate by a full five percent. A homeowner, with a property assessed at $500,000, will pay an additional $33 in town taxes next year, or $1.38 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. In 2009, the tax rate was $1.32 for every $1,000 of property value. The overall spending for the town in 2010 remains at around $78.8 million.

Above: Supervisor-elect Anna Throne-Holst and current supervisor Linda Kabot mull over the 2010 budget plan for Southampton Town.

As a last order of major business for supervisor Linda Kabot, she presented a preliminary 2010 budget in late September. The plan was widely debated throughout town hall as it called for 48 lay offs and privatizing the animal shelter; though Kabot said she had found a way to clear the deficits in the highway and police fund.

The board received the most criticism over staffing cuts from union members and community constituents, and have since decided to maintain several positions. Overall, 37 positions were cut, but 11 of these jobs were already vacant, 10 positions were related to the animal shelter and five staff members will likely accept a retirement incentive.

The adopted 2010 budget notably reinstates the transportation and traffic safety director, a community service aide in the senior service department, the assistant director of the youth bureau, a youth counselor, and five sanitation helpers and one scale operator in the Waste Management Division. Others, however, didn’t fair as well in the final round of budget talks. The grant analyst was eliminated, as was the building projects coordinator due to a reshuffling of the department of public works. The supervisor-elect Anna Throne-Holst will realize around $90,000 in savings from eliminating two positions in the supervisor’s officer. One of these positions, that of citizen advocate, however, was simply transferred from the supervisor’s office to the council office in a measure sponsored by Kabot.

A resolution backed by councilwoman Throne-Holst, councilwoman Nancy Graboski and councilwoman Sally Pope might signal the exit of current town attorney Dan Adams in the coming year. The amendment proposed that deputy town attorney Kathleen Murray will “serve as the acting town attorney during a transition period” over the first six months of 2010.

The board was able to save several positions mainly through reducing the monies allotted for deficit reduction in the highway and e-911 fund, increasing estimates for revenues like building permit fees and raising the Cablevision franchise fee from four to five percent, among other measures.

In the 2010 budget, the town has set aside around $2.8 million to pay down past deficits. Comptroller Tamara Wright warned, “The $2.8 million does not address the capital fund IOU. This isn’t really enough money to make a big dent in your deficits … Your financial health includes your cash balance and there isn’t a great deal of room to be off in your revenue estimates.”

The capital fund deficit, estimated at around $6 million, wasn’t directly addressed in the operating budget for next year but the town board has several options in dealing with this sizable debt. Kabot lobbied to pierce the five percent tax rate cap solely to handle these deficits, not new spending; but her resolution was voted down by Throne-Holst, councilman Chris Nuzzi and Pope. The town also has the option of surplusing, or selling off, certain properties next year, another idea proposed by Kabot. Or, the town could pay the capital fund debt through deficit financing, though Kabot argued the state would then have greater oversight into the town’s finances and deficit financing could potentially weaken the town’s credit rating.

“We still don’t have the final numbers. I would leave this aside for the moment and deal with it when we have these numbers,” suggested Throne-Holst.

In other measures, the town tabled a resolution to take out a $275,000 bond for a video arraignment system, decided to fund a total of seven board members of the Zoning Board of Appeals and maintained a hiring freeze.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Noyac Road has become a dangerous place, members of the bicycle advocacy group Spokespeople said on Tuesday evening. For members of the Noyac Civic Council, it was stating the obvious.

The groups came together during the civic council’s regular monthly meeting held at the Bridgehampton National Bank community room, and together they bemoaned the state of the road, and even debated who owned it: Suffolk County or Southampton Town. Chief among their complaints, however, was the liability it poses to pedestrians and bicyclists.

Spokespeople’s Dennis Loebs read a letter telling a harrowing tale of a cyclist who was severely injured after being struck by a car on Noyac Road earlier this year. The man, said Loebs, remembered being sprawled across the hood the car after being hit but then didn’t remember anything until he was airlifted out in a helicopter. He broke his clavicle, several ribs, a shoulder and other bones.

The road was underserved by traffic control measures, observed the cyclist in his letter, and he warned things could get worse if authorities didn’t take action. Loebs added his organization would like to work with the civic council to initiate traffic calming efforts along Noyac Road.

“Traffic becomes slower and safer and everybody benefits,” Loebs predicted.

Fellow Spokespeople member Spencer Wright agreed, and observed earlier in the meeting that “Noyac Road was never intended to be used the way it is today,” which has had great implications for the cycling community and the community at large.

“Noyac is really held back by the way Noyac Road is used,” Wright opined.

One council member observed that trying to get onto Noyac Road from Pine Neck Road is “nearly impossible,” and suggested putting a stop sign near Cromer’s Market to slow traffic.

Spokespeople member Sinead FitzGibbon said traffic calming efforts don’t have to be extravagant to be effective, and she suggested construction might not always be necessary: “It can be very simple, maybe just painting.” She added that making Noyac Road more attractive to cyclists will also have an impact on vehicular traffic.

“When drivers see and become conscious of non-motorized vehicles, drivers will acknowledge them and slow down,” observed FitzGibbon.

Council member Walter Tice cautioned the group, however, wondering what the impact on the larger community would be.

“If you restrict the use of heavy traffic, where does it go,” asked Tice. “That has to be considered.”

Loebs proposed having an independent traffic engineer study the road and make suggestions for improvements, and suggested the town take the road over from Suffolk County, which would enhance local control of the roadway, and possibly limit the size of vehicles allowed on the road.

“Some plans have been suggested but have met opposition out of the gate,” he said. “But we’d like to bring the Noyac Civic Council on board and maybe have better success with the town.

“How can the civic council help,” asked member Elena Loreto.

“We’d like to hear your thoughts on this,” said Wright.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Southampton Town Councilwoman, and supervisor candidate, Anna Throne-Holst filled the council in on the economic affairs at town hall. For the better part of this year, the town has been investigating a colossal accounting problem that is expected to reveal millions in deficits. And responding to the hopes of the previous speakers to construct a bike lane along Noyac Road, was not terribly optimistic.

“Your biggest competitor for attention is Scuttlehole Road, and one of our biggest hopes was to put a bike lane there,” said Throne-Holst, who told the council she was a cyclist herself. But added LIPA “left a wretched job behind” when it buried a series of power lines, and intimated the cost of fixing the road will be the town’s burden.

Beside, she said, “the bike fund was pretty much emptied by the time we got into the financial debacle at town hall.”

That debacle, said Throne-Holst, has cost the town over $120,000 in outside auditors already, a sum she said was “expensive, but money well spent.” The total amount of the deficit has yet to be calculated, but Throne-Holst said residents can expect it to be between $7-$10 million in the capital fund, and about $3 million in the general operating fund.

Throne-Holst also said the board has been deliberating how it will make up the deficit.

“How do we pay that? Do we tax you in one fell swoop, or finance it over a period of time,” asked the councilwoman. She said until the economy has turned around, she is not prepared to lift the five-percent tax cap the town must operate under.

Popularity: 1% [?]

The Southampton Town Republican Committee is poised to formally announce that Linda Kabot will head up their ticket this November. At its convention last month, Kabot, the incumbent town supervisor, was put aside by the local GOP in favor of James Malone.

But in an effort to avoid a primary Kabot had threatened to wage, the GOP hierarchy this week instead reached an agreement with the incumbent’s campaign to move Malone into the town council race, opening up the supervisor’s nomination to Kabot.

The move put newcomer Bill Wright — the party’s original choice for one of two available council seats — out of the running. Malone will be joined in the race by incumbent councilman Chris Nuzzi.

“History has shown it has not typically been the Democrats that have defeated local Republican campaigns for town office”, said Southampton Republican Committee Chairman Marcus Stinchi, “rather we have defeated ourselves with costly primary fights that have left our party divided in the November elections and more often than not with multiple Republican candidates on different lines dividing the electorate. We saw most recently in 2007 that two Republican candidates for supervisor garnered over 65% of the vote with similar results at the town board level only to lose a town board seat. A similar situation occurred in 1999.”

“At the end of the day”, continued Stinchi, “between the two potential campaigns we collected over 2,000 signatures and this agreement to allow Supervisor Kabot to seek re-election on the Republican line and Jim Malone moving over to run with Chris Nuzzi for the two town council seats, allows for all of these Republican signatories to not be disenfranchised and gives us the best chance to retain a majority on the town board which would be consistent with what has been typically expressed at the polls in the general elections.”

 “I was excited to learn yesterday that political leaders have come to realize that greater success can be achieved by joining forces and coming together,” said Kabot in a press release issued today, Tuesday, July 21. “Along my journey in politics, I have learned that it is necessary to re-adapt to changes and to embrace opportunities to move forward towards a brighter future.”

The three, all running on the Republican and Conservative party lines, will face a challenge by the Democratic-endorsed Anna Throne-Holst for supervisor, presently an independent town council member, and Sally Pope and Brigid Fleming for the two available town council seats. Pope is currently filling a seat on the council that had been vacated by Kabot in 2007 when she was elected supervisor. The seat was originally given to Dan Russo, a Republican, by Kabot. Russo, however, lost the seat to Pope in an election last year.

“Everyone took the long road home,” said Kabot, “but we finally got here.” The incumbent supervisor had approached Malone on a prior occasion in April with the proposition of building a 2009 “Dream Team” with her and Councilman Chris Nuzzi, according to the release. However, in what Kabot’s release characterized as a power play, the local Republican Committee nominated Malone, who also serves as Southampton Town Conservative Party chairman. Kabot responded by gathering 825 Republican signatures to force a primary. She also filed an additional 119 signatures of Republican voters in order to challenge the party positions of top leaders, including that of GOP Chairman Marcus Stinchi, said the release.

Kabot credited Suffolk County Conservative Party Chairman Ed Walsh for making it happen. “He recognized Jim’s potential as a candidate to strengthen the ticket, as well as the qualities that would make him an asset to the Town Board.”

In addition to the change in town endorsements. it was announced that Suffolk County Legislator Jay Schneiderman would be re-nominated as the Republican and Conservative candidate, adding to endorsements by his own Independence Party, and the Working Families Party.

 “It has been said that it is best to unite and lead and those are the watchwords to the wise,” concluded Kabot.

A news conference detailing the day’s changes is expected to occur later this week. 

Top: Linda Kabot (right) will face Anna Throne-Holst (left) in November’s election for Southampton Town supervisor.

Popularity: unranked [?]

FTI Consultants, a firm hired by Southampton Town, has finally completed a forensic audit of the town’s police fund and the firm presented their astonishing findings at a town work session on Friday, July 17. Brian Ong, speaking on behalf of FTI, enumerated the myriad ways mismanagement of the town’s police fund monies lead to a near $4.6 million dollar deficit at the close of 2007. However, the silver lining to the team’s audit was a list of recommendations for the town moving forward, many of which have already been undertaken by the town to clean up their accounting practices.

FTI’s forensic audit analyzed the police fund from January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2007. Ong and his team spent several months interviewing town employees and wading through electronic records of the town’s financial documents. FTI hoped to piece together the town’s complicated accounting practices from this time period and unearth the cause of the fund’s staggering deficit.

At the start of 2003, the town’s police fund was enjoying a healthy fund balance of a little over $3 million. Due to unexpected and unbudgeted Patrolman Benevolent Association (PBA) settlements, normal and disability retirements, over allocation of police expenditures and other budgetary variances the fund balance was not only whittled away to nothing, but by the close of 2007 the police fund was in the red. Between 2003 and 2007, the town’s police fund overspent by around $8 million, though the fund’s surplus was used to augment this figure. In 2003 and again in 2005, the town paid around $2.5 million, in total, for retroactive PBA contract settlements, which Ong pointed out contributed to a substantial amount of the overspending in the police fund.

“Additionally, we noted issues caused by unanticipated retirements, unanticipated normal retirements as well as disability retirements. Each of which resulted in lump sum distributions of severance which were not budgeted for at adequate levels,” added Ong.

Beginning in 2003, the police fund operated at a deficit, yet taxes in the town’s police districts weren’t levied to pay off these responsibilities. According to Wright, the town raised taxes just enough to maintain operations, though not to address the fund’s indebtedness. Furthermore, new tax monies, added supervisor Linda Kabot, were sometimes used for the incorrect budgetary year, consequently masking the actual deficit of the fund.

“Money was coming in from property taxes and so forth, and it was really earmarked for next year’s budget but was being used for the current budget in order to make payroll, etc.,” explained Kabot.

Ong added that over-allocation of police expenditures further exacerbated the police fund’s predicament. According to Wright, certain expenses, such as dental insurance, optical insurance, and workman’s compensation was erroneously charged to the police fund, when it should have been charged to other town funds. Another facet of the over-allocations were certain expenses that were charged in 2007, when they should have been charged in 2008.

However, between 2003 to 2007, to help make the police fund whole at year’s end and continue operations, the town often loaned money from one fund, primarily the general fund, to the police fund which the town refers to as an interfund loan. Under state law, interfund loans must be paid back to the lending fund within a year’s time, and if the loan isn’t paid back after a year the loan begins to accrue interest.

“Some years these loans would be paid back with the new tax money, so technically the loans weren’t outstanding. However, the taxes weren’t budgeted for that,” pointed out Wright, who added that during her research she found that once the police fund was low on money a loan would often be given.

The previous town board, however, didn’t sign off on these interfund loans. Instead, noted Kabot, the function of giving out interfund loans was under the purview of the comptroller’s office. Ong said he wasn’t aware of a law, which prohibits this practice, but said it is a good management policy to make town board members aware of interfund loans.

Going forward, Kabot said it was necessary for the town to draft a repayment schedule for the police fund.

According to Wright, the town has already implemented procedural changes to circumvent a deficit of the police fund in the future. Wright said the town has improved digital financial accounting and enacted a new system by which to manage separate accounts for a particular fund. Earlier this week, Kabot presented a draft law mandating the town board to pass interfund loans by way of resolutions.

Popularity: unranked [?]

To the average Southampton Town resident, trash is a topic given little thought. Many locals choose to bag their household waste and leave it on the corner of their properties for a private waste hauling company to pick up and cart away. Others participate in the town’s “green bag” system and bring their trash to one of the town’s four dumps, or waste stations. Once those trash bags travel down the chute or are thrown into the back of a truck, the Southampton Town resident’s role in disposing of their household waste is done.

For members of the town board, however, how best to manage the town’s waste is a subject of lively debate. Since last year, the board has explored the idea of privatizing waste management operations, or in other words hiring a private company to run the town’s trash disposal service. Privatization could be the key to lowering costs associated with the town program and ease its deficit. However, some members of the board are weary of the plan and believe privatization might fail to accomplish this goal.

In December of 2008, the town hired Cashin Associates, a business consulting firm, to conduct a comprehensive study on current operations of the town’s waste management system and the viability of hiring a private company to take over the reigns of this town service.

“Historically, the town has run its [waste management] operations as a traditional governmental service rather than as a business that must balance its costs and revenues. This approach, in conjunction with providing a high level of service for a relatively limited number of users, has contributed to operational inefficiencies and a general imbalance of income and expenditures within the Department,” wrote the consulting firm in its opening comments. At a work session held Friday, July 10, members of the board estimated the department’s deficit at around $2.8 million, but comptroller Tamara Wright added that this figure was based on unaudited financials. Kabot added that the town is waiting for the year end 2008 numbers, but said “waste management is in deficit condition.”

Based on Cashin’s analysis, around 11 to 14 percent of the town population use the town’s waste stations, however, councilman Chris Nuzzi argued these figures were debatable. Although the number of participating locals may be small, the costs savings are substantial for residents who take advantage of the program. Cashin estimated the average household paid $215 annually for disposal of their household trash at the town waste site. The average annual price for a private trash hauling company was estimated at $521. However, larger families who live farther from waste stations see only 17 percent savings compared to private hauling services.

In recent years, the town has experienced success with its green bag and bulk waste program. Cashin estimated this leg of the waste management program garners an annual revenue of around $819,000, while the expenditure for the green bag and bulk waste service is approximately $790,000. In addition to positive revenues for these particular services, the waste management department has also worked to cut down on expenses. Closing the Westhampton and Sag Harbor stations one day per week has helped lessen costs.

However, Cashin claims the amount of waste disposed at a town facility steadily decreased from 2004 through 2008. They pointed out that the department has almost 25 employees and over the next eight years will need to pay around $4,000,000 for new equipment and vehicles.

Based on their findings, Cashin advised the town to issue request for proposals, or RFPs, “to gauge vendor interest in taking over transfer station operations, handling transport and disposal of most of its solid waste stream.”

Cashin theorized the town could potentially save money by leasing or selling their equipment. The report added that based on prevailing New York State wages, a private contractor could potentially pay around 10 percent less than the town for labor and staffing.

“In recent years, Southampton had experienced a marked improvement in its overall solid waste management operations, including and especially control of labor costs, better tracking of expenses and interdepartmental charges, and phased upgrades to the North Sea Transfer station …,” the report determined. “[T]his study found that the town-run transport and private disposal of green bag and bulk waste currently costs the town approximately $141 [per ton]. This number is substantially higher than what most other Long Island municipalities pay for similar service. Therefore the major recommendation of this Privatization Study is the town of Southampton issue a request for proposals RFP.”

Both Nuzzi and town councilwoman Anna Throne-Holst were reluctant to entertain bids from private companies before the town receives fully completed and solid figures on the waste management’s financial status.

“I still have a lot of analysis to do,” contended comptroller Wright.

Throne-Holst held firm on waiting for the financials before deciding to privatize the waste management program.

“We are having this discussion without the numbers,” argued Throne-Holst, and it appeared the board was at an impasse again on the viability of privatization.

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