Oyster Bay budget hikes tax levy 3.1%, taps into $5M in reserves

The Oyster Bay town board adopted a $366.7 million for next year that hikes the tax levy by 3.1% and draws on $5 million in reserves, officials said.

The budget remains below the state tax cap calculation, but is a shift from an earlier proposal that kept the levy flat. Town officials cited rising healthcare premiums as a constricting factor.

Last week, Oyster Bay officials held hearings on a $370.2 million budget plan that relied on $16 million in reserves. The final version raises the tax levy from $242.2 million this year to $249.7 million next year. It lowered the reserve spending to $5 million to cover highway department costs, officials said. It is the first time the town has had to rely on reserves in more than a decade. The town held an official hearing on the earlier proposal but not the final version. 

Rob Darienzo, the town’s budget director, said in an email Oyster Bay had tightened spending "in areas that include part-time salaries, seasonal salaries, overtime, legal fees and postage." The newer budget combined those reductions with the 3% tax increase to lower the need for reserves.

The change in the levy will add about $6 monthly in property taxes to a home assessed at $610,000  — the average in the town, Darienzo said. 

Oyster Bay has not relied on reserves to balance the budget since 2016, Brian Nevin, a town spokesman, said. The town would have $93 million in reserves left after the $5 million is drawn down, the town said.

Oyster Bay Supervisor Joseph Saladino said during Tuesday's meeting that the town’s budget “reflects an enormous cost in soaring healthcare premiums.”

“We will continue maintaining all the high-quality services while tightening the belt in any place where it’s possible,” Saladino said.

The budget includes $102.7 million for salaries, a slight reduction from $104.7 million proposed in the tentative budget. The town budgeted $86.7 million for employee benefits and $95.4 million for debt service.

The budget includes an annual raise for town board members.

Last year, the town approved a 3.9% tax levy hike for the 2026 budget. It was the first approved increase in the tax levy since 2016. That year, then-Supervisor John Venditto hiked the 2017 levy by 11.5% to help reduce the town's deficit.

By Joseph Ostapiuk

joseph.ostapiuk@newsday.com@OstapiukJ

Joseph Ostapiuk covers the Town of Oyster Bay and the city of Glen Cove. He joined Newsday in 2023 after spending more than six years at the Staten Island Advance.