Paying the Bill

Nothing energizes the voting public like a proposed tax hike — and in both Southampton and East Hampton towns, sizable hikes are going to be proposed this fall, which likely will bring an outcry. But the simple fact is that it could be time for both towns to catch up on some long-overdue investments in quality of life.

In Southampton Town, Maria Moore’s first proposed budget will require an increase in the tax levy of more than 11 percent, which will pierce the state’s cap. Because the town budget is generally kept under control, the impact would be $140 per $1 million of assessed value, far from a crushing blow for most households. But that would allow the town to do several important things, including adding 14 employees to a town payroll that has been understaffed in recent years, including four new police officers and two code enforcement officers. Both agencies could use the help.

Moreover, Moore wants to begin reducing annual debt payments by allocating revenue toward capital projects, in essence saving rather than always borrowing. At some point, someone has to take the first step of putting together such a plan and adding seed money.

The story is similar in East Hampton: Proposed spending is up 8.65 percent, which will require piercing the state’s cap on tax levy increases, and the impact on taxpayers is comparable to the Southampton Town spending plan. Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez labels it a “transitional budget,” as it takes into account not significant hiring but the impact of several new contracts with Town Hall and Police Department staff.

Citizens will object, but numbers are fickle things — and there’s no getting around the fact that much of town government is service-related, and the vast majority of its costs are salaries and benefits for public employees. That’s true in Southampton and East Hampton, but it’s also true in every single East End municipality — both Riverhead and Brookhaven towns plan to exceed the state cap this year — and most are coming to terms with the need to balance low tax rates and competitive compensation for the towns’ workers.

It’s becoming more and more difficult for the towns to attract and keep staff, and that is a hidden price paid by every citizen, who eventually will notice when they come in contact with Town Hall and find themselves waiting for basic services. If they’re lucky, they won’t find the Police Department shorthanded at a moment they’re needed most.

And town taxpayers have to recognize the constantly rising costs of health insurance and other basic elements of compensation. You get what you pay for, and it’s probably time for town taxpayers to understand that the bill eventually comes due if you want to maintain a level of service that’s acceptable. East Hampton sees a particular issue with its payroll contributions for the employee retirement system, which is rising and must be addressed before it balloons further.

That’s not to say that the two town boards can’t roll up their sleeves and try to trim all the fat they can — but the truth is that town taxpayers live in a community that’s exploded in size, and there are inescapable costs. We can ask government to be frugal, but they, too, can ask us to be reasonable in our expectations.