Oyster Bay Town Board Passes 2020 Budget With Tax Freeze

OYSTER BAY, NY — Oyster Bay town officials have voted to approve the proposed 2020 budget, which includes a second consecutive freeze on property taxes and increases spending by about 2 percent.

Joseph Saladino, the town supervisor, and members of the town board voted Tuesday to approve the budget, the town said in a news release. The plan keeps a $1.3-million property tax cut first approved for 2018. The tax freeze was possible due to spending restraints, efficiencies and debt reduction initiatives, officials said.

That means nearly $4 million will stay in the pockets of residents, Saladino's office said, rather than the government's coffers.

Oyster Bay will see a 1.9 percent increase in costs, but officials stressed taxes will not go up to offset them. The cost hikes stem from worker contract obligations, as well as changes in the international commodities market that have driven up recycling and hauling costs, Saladino's office said.

"In partnership with the Town Board, we have instilled fiscal discipline and eliminated over $24 million in deficits left behind by the prior administration," he said. "We now have a surplus rather than a deficit. We have also reduced a significant amount of long-term debt while cutting property taxes and making smart investments in our roadways."

The 2020 budget will also continue to pay down debts used to fund capital projects, officials said. In 2017, Saladino suspended borrowing for such projects for the first time in the town's history. As such, the town is on track to reduce its overall debt by $160 million by 2020 and $190 million by 2021.

When it comes to government workers, Saladino plans to do more with less. A reduction in workforce will save significant payments in salary and pension costs, his office said. The general services department no longer uses outside consultants, reduced yearly costs on contracting services and installed LED lights throughout the Town to save money. The public works department is sharing duties to keep more engineering projects in house.

By eliminating certain positions, the budget includes $9 million in savings compared to 2016. The workforce is at its lowest level in decades.

The budget approval comes after Thomas DiNapoli, the New York state comptroller, identified the Town of Oyster Bay as one of 12 municipalities in the state facing "significant" fiscal stress.

The fiscal stress monitoring system uses data from yearly financial reports submitted to the office by local governments. With a fiscal stress score of 70.0, Oyster Bay ranked as the ninth most stressed municipality, sandwiched between the village of Islandia at 70.8 and Westchester County at 69.6.

Municipalities make the list if they have a score of 65 or higher. Not all receive a score though, as some don't submit financial reports or submit incomplete data.

In Nassau County, the city of Long Beach and the county itself were deemed financially stressed.

In July, Moody’s Investors Service gave the town its first "positive outlook" designation in nearly 20 years, according to the Long Island Herald.