Shelter Island Reporter Letter to the Editor: Oct. 9, 2026

BUDGET ALERT

To the Editor:

The Town supervisor has released her 2027 recommended budget. It is a 7.5% increase in property tax revenue from $13,003,459 to $13,978,751.  No one I know has received a 7% increase in salary or their pension this year; yet property owners face a large increase in our property taxes to pay for this proposed budget. 

The supervisor’s proposed budget has major increases in line after line, over 5% for Assessors, over 7% for the Town Clerk, over 18% for Green Options, over 8% for IT, on and on. Then there are the big items — a 30% increase for personnel services for Public Works, over 199% for Longevity payments for those same workers, and to make sure we understand that she sees no limits — 113% in Contingent, which has no function other than to increase our taxes. 

Some costs are hard for any town to control. Health Insurance is up 15.3%, and Retirement Contributions up 7.3%. That’s why the Town supervisor needs to control hiring because full-time people are expensive. According to Town records obtained under FOIL, the Town has 62 full-time employees as of Jan. 1, 2026. 

How can the Town supervisor exercise control? Not every retirement needs to be backfilled, and every new hire should be justified. And when a member of the supervisor’s party loses an election, that person should not be rewarded with an appointed Town job. 

I have not mentioned major issues that are not addressed in her proposed budget. Issues, such as the costs of 2 School Street, are not in this recommended budget.

Last year the Town Board cut the supervisor’s proposed budget down to a 2% increase. Board members, you have your work cut out for you to do it again.

LYNNE WEIKART, Shelter Island