Huntington Bay village pierces tax cap with 8.7% property tax increase in 2024-25 budget

The Village of Huntington Bay has approved a $2.51 million budget for 2024-25 with an 8.7% property tax increase that pierces the state's tax cap. The average property tax bill will increase by $268, according to a village budget handout.

According to the document, 73% of the budget, or $1.144 million, is for the village police department, with $995,000 accounting for salaries. The department has five full-time members and seven part-timers.

The village's police budget is up by 13.9% over the current budget, which is approximately $1,003,000, Village Trustee Mark Dara said.

The remainder of the village budget includes 24.5% for village operations and 1.5% for village court operations, according to the handout. Expenses listed in the document include $297,000 in New York State retirement costs, $453,000 for health insurance, $80,000 for Social Security and $56,000 for bond repayment.

The village employs two full-time workers and five part-timers including the village inspector, prosecutor, and a computer aide.

The board approved the budget 3-2 at the April 30 village meeting. Village Mayor Herb Morrow and trustees Jay Meyer and Don Rave voted in favor of the budget, with Dara and Barbara Beuerlein voting against it.

The board voted 5-0 to pierce the state's 2% cap on increasing the property tax levy.

Morrow did not return requests for comment. Meyer and Beuerlein could not be reached for comment. Rave said he did not have a comment.

Morrow, Meyer and Rave will not seek reelection in next month’s village elections, village officials said.

Dara, who is running for mayor in June to take over the seat Morrow was elected to in 1994, said he could not vote for what he called an unsustainable budget.

He said the budget includes $45,000 in unspecified state and federal grants as revenue. He said that money would first have to be laid out for projects and then the village would be reimbursed. He said the budget does not show where the initial money would come from.

“I couldn’t in my heart approve a budget that I know was a failing budget,” Dara said. 

Dara, the village road commissioner, said Morrow underfunded some important infrastructure responsibilities. The budget allows $1,000 for street cleaning and $10,000 to clean the village’s 134 drains, multiple overflow basins, and drains that require filters to release water into the bay, Dara said. He estimates the cost of drain cleaning to be closer to $27,000.

He said there are opportunities to save money through staffing cuts but declined to specify which positions.

The mayor is paid $1,500 a month while trustees receive $200 a month. The police and road commissioners, who are also trustees, get an additional $200 a month.

Patricia Antonucci, a Huntington Bay resident for 37 years and a vocal critic of Morrow’s management, said she’s concerned about the accounting surrounding the $45,000 in grants. 

“I don't think the village is going to have enough money to pay its bills,” Antonucci said. 

In July Morrow confirmed the Suffolk County district attorney was investigating charges on a Huntington Bay Village credit card and also seeking financial records, receipts, billing statements and invoices. The case is pending.

In March 2023 the village was listed by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office as being “susceptible to fiscal stress” based on a Fiscal Stress Monitoring System. The system looks at year-end fund balance, cash position, short-term cash-flow borrowing and patterns of operating deficits.

At the time Morrow blamed landing on the list on road improvements, a new full-time police officer and a refund due from the state.