Suffolk voters have approved a proposal that would allow the county to tap into a special sewer fund created to protect drinking water to make up for the county`s budget deficits, a county election official said. The Sewer Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund contains an excess balance to stabilize wastewater district tax rates. Once referred to the Suffolk County Taxpayer Trust Fund, the funds will be used to reduce or stabilize general property taxes and/or police/public safety property taxes. The Suffolk County Drinking Water Protection Program (DWPP) was launched by voters in 1987 with a majority of 87% and has since been extended several times. It uses a 1/4% sales tax to fund major initiatives to improve water quality, preserve open spaces and tax those in sewer districts. Environmentalists, including the Pine Barrens Society, said the transfer would hurt the county`s drinking water protection program, which voters created in a referendum in 1987. This program, she said, improves sewer infrastructure; nitrogen pollution control; protects the coasts; provides drinking water; and is supported by more than 85% of voters. In 2011, under the leadership of former general manager Steve Levy, the county withdrew $29.4 million from the wastewater fund to balance the budget. Bellone, meanwhile, stressed that if the proposal was approved, there would still be enough funds to stabilize wastewater taxes. The proposal calls on voters to decide whether $15 million in excess funding should be used to “close the gap between the coronavirus,” Scully said. The bill would also ensure that if the measure were approved, there would still be a sufficient amount of funding to achieve the stated goal of stabilizing wastewater taxes, Scully said. It sounds pretty simple. It`s overfunded, there`s a surplus that doesn`t bring any real benefit to taxpayers,” Scully said.
“This would allow it to be used to stabilize the county`s finances in the face of a disastrous situation.” If approved, it would mean that $44,409,109 would be transferred to the tax fund in fiscal year 2020 or 2021. This included $29,409,109 to be paid to the Sewer Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund as part of a settlement. In 2019, Justice Joseph Farneti rendered judgment in the case of Long Island Pine Barrens Society, Inc.c. County Suffolk. The Long Island Pine Barrens Society, a nonprofit advocacy group that opposes the transfer of money from the sewer fund, could question the legality of the proposal, said Richard Amper, the company`s director. The program is funded by a 0.25% sales tax and divided into funds for land remediation and conservation, property tax stabilization and water quality. Initially, Bellone introduced two bills. The first was a bill that would “redirect fiscal stabilization funds,” said Deputy Chief Executive Peter Scully. Currently, he said, under the Suffolk County Charter, a quarter of the sales tax is allocated to fiscal stabilization, conservation of free space and water quality. With voter approval, the bill would have allowed the county to reduce the percentage of funding in the open space portion of the fund and increase it in the fiscal stabilization portion to “protect taxpayers without negative impacts on the environment.” “But everyone knows it`s overfunded,” he said. Suffolk County has voted in the past to use surplus funds from the Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund. “The proposed use is not a new concept.
What`s new is that voters will decide whether reallocating funds to protect against the effects of the coronavirus is a good idea, he said. The proposal asked voters to authorize the county to transfer $44 million from the wastewater fund to a taxpayer trust fund. The measure was also intended to allow the county not to have to replenish the fund with $145 million owed under a previous loan plan. The sewer fund will be used to stabilize taxes for residents of the sewer district and to fund improvements to wastewater treatment infrastructure throughout the county, including the installation of low-nitrogen septic tanks in accordance with county law. Bellone said the use of the sewer fund will help the county avoid layoffs and service cuts. The budget deficit has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic and the national economic shutdown imposed to contain the spread of the virus. Proposal 2 includes an Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund that stabilizes wastewater taxes for Suffolk County residents who live in sewer districts. If residents face a tax increase of more than 3 percent, the reserve fund will be used to keep the rate low, county deputy chief Peter Scully said. Tony Dungy never kept silent about his feelings for Antonio Brown. This continued after one of the strangest moments of the wide receiver`s career. The first proposal is to change the term of Suffolk County legislators from two years to four years.
This upcoming election is important for many reasons. When you receive your ballot, choose your names on the front (you are alone). However, it is extremely important that you return your ballot and check the suggestions on the back. The final vote was 348,357 in favor of the proposal against 301,407 against, according to the final results released Thursday by the county`s election committee. By clicking Register, you agree to our Privacy Policy. While this amount won`t solve all the problems and difficult decisions will have to be made, the funding “will prevent the worst effects of COVID-19,” Bellone said. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez suggested that Republicans who criticize their vacation “project their sexual frustration.” For months, Bellone has been campaigning for the measure to close the impending budget deficit. Resolution No. 547-2020, “A Charter Bill to Transfer Surplus Funds from the Sewer Assessment Stabilization Reserve Fund to the Suffolk County Taxpayers Trust Fund and Eliminate the Requirement that Interfund Transfers Be Made from the General Fund to the Sewer Assessment Stabilization Fund” Unfortunately, Long Island has the most contaminated water in the state.
It also has some of the highest nitrogen concentrations in our groundwater in the country. This is a public health crisis that we cannot ignore. We cannot afford to tackle the drinking water protection program. Suffolk County has carefully formulated the proposal in a way that doesn`t make sense, so you know what they actually intend to do. But make no mistake, they ask your permission to loot a fund of your taxes that you have already allocated to water protection. You`ve probably seen the Christmas photo of Prince William and Kate Middleton who was at Their Christmas. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick gave a glimpse into how his team is dealing with mental health issues following Antonio Brown`s sudden departure from the Bucs on Sunday. The Pine Barrens Society filed a lawsuit. A court ordered the county to repay the money in December 2019, but Suffolk appealed the decision. Bellone said a meeting of the Legislative Budget Committee was held and a report from the bipartisan Budget Review Board was presented, which “detailed the urgency this district is facing due to the impact of COVID-19.” This article originally appeared on the North Fork patch “It`s not clear to us that this was a county lawsuit because the language of the app was incomprehensible,” Amper said. “The requirement under state law is that it must be clear to the average voter.” But not everyone agrees: environmentalists have shouted against Proposition 2. Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens` Campaign for the Environment, published an article on the measure on social media.
Bellone insisted the federal government must stand up with help as Suffolk County faces “catastrophic and catastrophic numbers – beyond anything we`ve ever seen or expected.” Finally, the third proposal for Riverhead residents would increase the term of the City Overseer from two years to four years. “Hundreds of millions of dollars over the next few years that we will have to manage,” Bellone said. “And that means we have to make tough decisions. But in terms of tough decisions, it`s honestly not a difficult choice. It`s very simple. It has literally no impact on taxpayers, no negative impact on taxpayers, key employees or any other government program. This is the lowest of the lowest fruits we could have to choose. Anything else we do will be more painful than that. » A vote AGAINST Suffolk County`s Proposal No. 2 (VOTE NO) – The report, he said, showed that Suffolk County was facing an $800 million budget hole. Over the next 15 months, he said, the county expects a gaping budget deficit of $1.1 billion to $1.5 billion. He said it was time for the federal government to act.
Click here for more information on the proposals. From the latest news to specials and documentaries, the NewsdayTV team covers the topics that matter to them. Nevertheless, immediate action must be taken, Bellone said. To that end, he stated that the county budget office had set aside $29 million in funding from various ministries and imposed it under embargo; Resolutions were also tabled to mitigate the impact totalling $77 million. .