Creighton Pitches Changes in Commercial Tax, Permit Structures

Incumbent town councilman Robert Creighton said the Town of Smithtownis blocking the road for private homeowners and businesspeople - something he said he would remedy if re-elected Tuesday.

“I find it terribly frustrating people come to the town willing to pay for a permit to get something done and we continuously put stumbling blocks in their way for whatever reason … I just think it’s very, very difficult for the people that pay taxes to be stalled in whatever kind of venture that they’re involved in,” he said.

How does Creighton expect this to happen? By the town’s tax abatement program, a program the councilman said could be adopted at the next town board meeting on Nov. 17.

“Any company that spends more than $50,000 to improve its facility or to move in and build a new facility we’re giving them an abatement of 50 percent for the first year and then on a declining scale 5 percent every year after for a 10 year period,” he said. “It is designed to get new businesses to come in and get businesses that are in place to improve their business, to fix up their facilities.”

In addition to the tax abatement program, Creighton said he is not opposed to cutting permit fees for businesses and homeowners.

, Creighton said he and other council members were at town hall following the storm and town workers were hard at work.

“Public Safety was out en masse and probably was the most visible group of emergency workers … John Valentine was constantly in contact with the president [of LIPA],” he said. “I add nothing to emergency preparedness or service by going out and sitting in a truck and getting my picture taken, it doesn’t do a thing. All the days after Hurricane Irene I was in this office, I never received one phone call asking for any kind of advice or decision making from anybody, but we were here and we worked directly with the Public Safety people, constantly in contact with John Valentine."

Another issue Creighton plans on attacking further if re-elected is the design of Main Street in Smithtown. While plans have been offered to the town and state Department of Transportation, , he said a variation of that plan could be done immediately with the possibility of expanding on it further in the future.

The plan is to use paint striping instead of a concrete barrier to separate lanes and bring four lanes down to two and add a left-turning lane. Creighton said he expects to hear from the DOT in November to see if the plan is moving forward.