Oyster Bay Town Holds Budget Hearing: Proposed Spending Up, Taxes Flat

OYSTER BAY, NY—On Tuesday, the Town of Oyster Bay held public hearings to hear comments on a proposed 2023 budget that would increase spending but keep taxes steady.

"We continue to make sure property taxes are frozen. For the sixth year in a row, [there is] no increase of the town's property's taxes," Supervisor Saladino said at the town's morning session.

Saladino discussed the budget in light of rising inflation and a predicted nationwide recession. He stressed the budget's allocation of funds for roadway improvement, demolitions of so-called "ghost houses," and resident employment assistance.

The Town of Oyster Bay has been taken off the state controller's "fiscal stress list," Saladino said and "is the most solid financially it's ever been."

The 2023 budget calls for an increase of spending over 2022, from $311 million to almost $320 million. Town salaries will go up by 3 percent, gas and fuel costs have risen by 45 percent and interest rates are also up, the town finance director Robert Darienzo said on Tuesday.

The shortfalls will be made up by underestimating some town revenue streams, like mortgage taxes, Darienzo explained.

No residents commented on the budget at Tuesday's hearing.

The board is scheduled to vote on the budget at the next town board meeting on Oct. 25.