For the second straight year, the East Hampton Town budget will pierce the state-mandated 2-percent cap, shooting to nearly $110 million.
Over $63 million will go to employee salaries and benefits. As an example, Rebecca Hansen, the town administrator, told the town board on Tuesday, it costs $3,367 a month for a family on the town’s health insurance policy.
The increase, from this year’s $103,720,000, will lead to a tax hike, albeit at a slightly lower level than last year’s 7.72 percent raise. Taxes will increase 5.78 percent outside of villages and 4.40 percent within.
To put it in real terms, according to a town press release, a home valued at $1.250 million will pay $84 more in annual town taxes should the proposed budget pass. It will be a town board topic this month ahead of two planned Nov. 6 public hearings, one on piercing the cap and the other on the budget itself. Under New York State law, the budget must be approved by Nov. 20.
The spending increase, according to the release, reflects the community’s “shared priorities” — “protecting the environment and natural resources, keeping residents safe, supporting families, creating opportunities for young people, and ensuring open and transparent government.”
In a conversation at her office last week, Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez said piercing the cap may be the new normal. Recent contracts with the Civil Service Employees Association, the Police Benevolent Association, and town dispatchers ensure those union members now enjoy a four-percent raise annually. Detectives and members of the Suffolk County Superior Officers Association both received two-percent pay increases this year.
If the cap is two percent, but a significant portion of the budget goes to salaries and benefits that are being raised in excess of that amount, the math is hard. “In order to recruit and retain staff, we have to pay our folks fairly,” said Ms. Burke-Gonzalez. “Folks have been lobbying the governor to have a carve-out for retirement benefits. It’s going to be harder and harder for municipalities to stay under the two-percent tax cap.”
Seven new positions are created in the new budget, and the School Resource Officer program will be expanded, with one new officer budgeted for. The Police Department will now have five trained S.R.O.s.
“Every parent deserves the peace of mind that comes with knowing their child’s school is safe. That is why this budget expands the School Resource Officer program,” the supervisor said in the press release. “These officers teach, they mentor, and they help prevent problems before they start. This investment is about giving kids a safe place to learn, strengthening the bonds between young people and law enforcement, and protecting the next generation.”
Funding for food programs, such as the Montauk Community Nutrition Center, the Springs Food Pantry, and the Montauk Food Program, was all modestly increased. Larger dollar amounts will go to the Y.M.C.A. ($590,0000) and LTV ($750,000).
Budget preparation begins in June. By July, department heads are letting Ms. Burke-Gonzalez and Rebecca Hansen, the town administrator, know what their staffing and other needs will be. In August, town board liaisons meet with each department head to go through the numbers.
“Becky and I sit down and go over the requests that are made,” said the supervisor. “We look at folks that are recommended for raises and promotion requests. But a lot that ends up in the budget is non-discretionary.”
Can anything, at this stage, be cut?
“I don’t think we could. Not with what it costs to support and advance our town staff. We’d be looking at cutting services, and I don’t think anyone wants that, especially with what’s happening at the federal level. Folks are struggling. The numbers at the food pantries serving East Hampton are staggering. Thank God for our volunteers that open their hearts and roll up their sleeves.”
“The budget is pretty lean,” said Ms. Hansen at Tuesday’s meeting. “It’s basically budgeting what you have going on right now.”
East Hampton Justice Court operates at a deficit of over a million dollars annually, at a time when many complain about a lack of code enforcement, but Ms. Burke-Gonzalez is unperturbed. “We don’t look at it that way,” she said. “We’re not running a business called ‘Justice Court’ that needs to turn a profit.”
The Building Department, which charges fees for anything from a small renovation or a $30 million house on the ocean, is a revenue-generator. It will spend over $1.75 million in 2025 on salaries and benefits, but so far the town has already collected $2.707 million in “safety inspection fees.” The fees are not broken down, but Patrick Derenze, the town’s public information officer, indicated that they were generated from the Building Department.
The fee structure was changed in 2023. Ms. Burke-Gonzalez said she will leave it up to the new principal building inspector to make recommendations on whether it should be raised. “We’ll give him time to get settled and make recommendations,” she said. “You can only charge relative to the town effort that’s put in.”
Tuesday’s budget discussion took place in the shadow of the federal government shutdown, which adds uncertainty. “Hopefully, no funding is pulled,” said Ms. Hansen, noting that the town receives about $1.4 million from Washington for certain human services and housing programs.
