CPF money shows downward trend
Community Preservation Fund revenues continue to trend down for the first eight months of 2016.
The five East End towns, which benefit from the fund that collects a 2 percent tax from buyers of properties in any of those municipalities, have realized a total of $61.53 million compared with $64.55 million for the same period in 2015.
That represents a 4.7 percent decline, according to Assemblyman Fred Thiele Jr. (I-Sag Harbor).
July revenues totalled a 5 percent increase bringing in $6.68 million, up from $6.36 million for the same month in 2015.
But in his release of revenues for the first six months of this year, Mr. Thiele reported that only two of the five East End towns showed Community Preservation Fund revenues at an increase.
East Hampton brought in $20.04 million this year compared with $18.61 million in 2015 for a 7.7 percent increase. Southold saw a slight increase of 0.9 percent, bringing in $3.79 million for the first six months of this year, up from $3.66 million for the same period last year.
Shelter Island has continued to lag this year and is down by $14.4 percent, receiving $1.07 million for the first six months of this year as compared with $1.25 million for the same period last year.
Southampton numbers were down by 13.3 percent for the first six months of this year, from $38.85 million in 2015 to $34.55 million this year. Riverhead was off by 4.1 percent this year, bringing in $2.08 million for the first six months this year as compared with $2.17 million for the same period last year.
Despite the downward trend, Mr. Thiele noted that since its inception in 1999, the CPF money has totalled $1.1569 billion and even during the last 12 months, has brought in $101.94 million to help preserve open spaces and maintain the character of the East End.
Among the ballot issues voters in each of the towns will face in November is a resolution to extend the life of the Community Preservation Fund to 2050 and a second resolution that would allow each town to allocate up to 20 percent of future CPF money to projects to protect water.
