Town of Huntington readies to pierce the tax cap after split vote

The Huntington Town Board on Tuesday approved a measure that allows the town to pierce the tax cap in next year's budget.

The board needed to approve the measure to eventually exceed the cap. The town's preliminary budget for 2027 is due Sept. 30.

The vote was 3-2, with board members Brooke Lupinacci, a Conservative, and Jen Hebert, a Democrat, voting no. Town Supervisor Ed Smyth, along with fellow council members Dave Bennardo and Theresa Mari, all Republicans, voted in favor.

“Piercing the tax cap is necessary,” Smyth said in an interview on Wednesday. “I do not want to cut services to senior citizens, and children and roads and parks, or anything else.”

He said he is now considering presenting a $269 million budget, which would see the average town homeowner pay an additional $25 per month. Smyth told Newsday last month that it would equal "fiscal suicide" to stay under the tax cap.

The town's 2026 budget, which stands at $245.3 million, did not pierce the cap. The average homeowner saw a $12 increase in their tax bill for the four major funds: general, highway, part-town and refuse, officials have said.

State law caps how much local governments can increase their tax collection each year. The exact number is calculated by the state comptroller's office and based on each municipality's finances, changing each year.

The board had been scheduled to vote on the measure at its August town board meeting. But the vote was postponed after board members requested to review the impact of a budget that stays under the cap.

Smyth has presented draft proposals that cut individual town department budgets by 16%.

He said if the cap is not pierced, service cuts are likely across the board. The most visible cuts would be to front-facing services such as refuse collection, road improvements and senior programs, Smyth said.

Hebert said she considered piercing the cap if all other options were considered and recognizes “we almost certainly will ultimately need to pierce the tax cap.” She said her proposals to save money were declined by the Smyth administration. Among them were holding off on funding open space purchases and saving $300,000 by not giving out leaf bags to residents.

“I don’t believe the budget is this stark place between black and white,” she said in an interview on Wednesday. “My feeling is that the right budget is in the gray zone, somewhere in between there.”

Lupinacci did not respond to a request for comment.

By Deborah S. Morris

deborah.morris@newsday.comdsvmorris

Deborah Morris is a native Long Islander and covers the town of Huntington.