Locals to Pay for Irene Cleanup in Tentative 2012 Town Budget

Smithtown has proposed a 2012 town budget that charges locals close to $1 million cover clean-up costs from Tropical Storm Irene.

With increases, the tentative budget is still below the mandatory 2 percent tax cap instituted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo: the increase from 2011 is .7 percent.

Superintendent of Highways Glenn Jorgensen said cleanup after Irene cost roughly $1.4 million and ate up surplus funds.

The increase in highway funds, which would cost taxpayers roughly $19.90 per household, is to replenish the surplus for 2012.

“The increase was mostly because of the hurricane, and they want to keep the surplus … I spent it on the hurricane cleanup so they want to make sure that they still have that surplus in next years budget,” Jorgensen said.

The tentative budget, $969,839 higher than the adopted 2011 budget, has six areas that would increase if adopted.

In 2011 the general fund was $3,250,000, in the tentative budget it would increase to $4,250,000; the highway machinery fund was $400,000 in 2011, it would increase to $475,000; highway snow account was $65,000, it would increase to $75,000; outside village fund was $650,000 in 2011, it would increase to $850,000; the solid waste district portion was $318,500 2011, it would increase to $626,600; country club and highway bridge portion was $18,802 in 2011, it would increase to $48,615.

If adopted, cuts would come from the highway road account, which would decrease to $565,000 from $900,000 in 2011, from the street lighting district which would decrease to $200,000 from $300,000 in 2011, and from the water districts which would decrease to $41,926 from $260,000 in 2011.