Suffolk supervisors call for looser state tax cap

A bipartisan lineup of Suffolk town supervisors is urging the state to loosen the tax cap formula, warning the 2% limit on property tax hikes is too restrictive.

Six town leaders — four Republicans and two Democrats — said during a news conference Monday that rising prices for fuel and supplies as well as employee pension and healthcare funds have made it nearly impossible to stay within the cap.

And, they added at Brookhaven Town Hall in Farmingville, it may be impossible to comply if waste disposal costs explode when, as expected, the Brookhaven Town landfill closes in two years.

Parks and recreation budgets may be the first to take the brunt of cuts next year, some supervisors said. Towns may have to cut staff at beaches and golf courses and as a result, limit hours there. Concerts at town parks may also be on the chopping block, officials said. Town officials, some of whom face reelection on Nov. 3, must enact new budgets by Nov. 20 under state law.

The problem, they said, is the cap drops when the national inflation rate falls below 2%, but does not automatically rise when it exceeds that threshold. By the end of August the Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, was up 3.4% from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"Right now we have an arbitrary 2% [cap] that doesn't adjust," regardless of inflation, Huntington Supervisor Ed Smyth, a Republican, told reporters. Last week, Huntington released a 2027 budget proposal calling for an 18% property tax hike. The town last pierced the cap in 2017. 

If the state allowed a cap that rose with inflation, Smyth added, "we could all live with that."

The supervisors Monday signed a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul seeking "open dialogue" to adjust the state tax cap formula and address "the growing financial pressures facing local government."

In the letter, supervisors said they were forced to "absorb significant costs that we have no vote, voice or authority to determine."

In a statement, Hochul spokesman Gordon Tepper said Monday the tax cap, which took effect in 2012, "is a critical protection for homeowners." He added that Hochul, a Democrat, "has provided more support to local governments than any other governor ..."

"Elected officials across the state should be looking for ways to control costs, not asking homeowners to pay more," he said.

Not an 'embarrassment'

Suffolk towns began releasing 2027 spending plans last week amid a succession of dismal economic news, including rising unemployment, increasing inflation and ballooning mortgage rates. The consumer confidence index dropped to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to the  Conference  Board, a nonprofit consortium of business leaders.

Besides Huntington, Islip officials have said they anticipate piercing the cap for the third consecutive year, Newsday has reported.

Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter, a Republican, said exceeding the cap is a matter of practicality to keep pace with rising costs. Islip's majority Republican town board voted to override the cap in 2025 and again with this year's budget, driving a 27% increase to the typical town tax bill over two years.

"I don't think it's an embarrassment to have to pierce the cap," she said. "Not piercing the cap is fiscally irresponsible." 

Few options

Supervisors said they are running out of ways to control costs.

Riverhead is not proposing to pierce the cap next year, but Supervisor Jerry Halpin, an independent backed by Democrats, noted the town has done so three times in recent years. He introduced a $120.9 million budget last week that stays within the cap for the first time in four years.

"Next year is a different year," Halpin, who is running for reelection in November, said. "We can only pull so many rabbits out of the hat."

Long Island towns have cited escalating contributions to the state-run municipal pension plan and to the New York State Health Insurance Program, which provides health insurance for thousands of workers. Those costs are established by state agencies.

Long Island town and city pension costs surpassed $137 million last year, up $13 million over 2024, Newsday reported last week. They spent $341.3 million on employee and retiree healthcare premiums in 2024, nearly 12% more than in 2023, Newsday has reported.

Brookhaven Supervisor Dan Panico said those costs ultimately hurt taxpayers.

"The pressures that we feel as town supervisors are universal," Panico said.

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.