In a Split Vote, North Haven Village Board Approves 9 Percent Spending Hike, While Holding Tax Rate Steady With Use of Surplus Funds

The North Haven Village Board, in a split vote on Monday, April 15, approved a $2.54 million budget that carries a 9 percent spending increase.

But thanks to a more generous use of surplus funds than has been seen in recent years, the tax rate will remain the same, $0.507 per $1,000 of assessed value.

Trustees Terie Diat and Dianne Skilbred voted against the budget, which increased spending by $212,700, arguing that many of the items that contributed to the spending increase — including $26,000 to install speed humps on Sunset Beach Road, $10,000 to help Sag Harbor Village pay for traffic control officers at the foot of the Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter Veterans Memorial Bridge, and a new telephone system for Village Hall — could be deferred or eliminated outright.

The vote followed a two-hour hearing, at which a handful of residents voiced concerns about portions of the budget, and Southampton Town Councilman Tommy John Schiavoni, who is also a village resident, questioned whether the village had put enough money aside for the development of the park at the former Lovelady Powell property and two adjoining parcels.

Schiavoni asked how the village planned to develop the park with only $60,000 allocated for parks and recreation — with about $25,000 already earmarked to repair the North Haven Trail bridge, which was washed out by a recent storm.

Mayor Chris Fiore said the village had submitted a site plan for the park to the Southampton Town Community Preservation Fund office in March but had not established a capital fund to develop the park. He repeated that the village expects to pay for most of the improvements to the park, including paths, a bridge over a manmade pond and a pollinator garden, with $350,000 collected by a nonprofit that was established for that purpose.

Barbara Roberts, who has criticized the mayor in the past about his management of the park, asked when there would be a public discussion of the park plans. Fiore said he would be discussing the park with the Town Board at an upcoming work session and would schedule a village meeting once the CPF office signs off on the proposed site plan.​​​​

Monica Caan, who said she and her husband like to walk and jog with their five dogs, called on the board to do something to reduce speeding on village roads. Board members told her they have already successfully convinced the state to lower the speed limit on Route 114, purchased radar signs that remind motorists of their speed, and received a commitment from Southampton Town Police to post an officer in the village from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Conor McCarthy praised the board for including money for technology upgrades, but he gave a thumbs-down to paying for TCOs in Sag Harbor, who, he said, are poorly supervised and ineffective.

He also questioned the board’s decision to spend up to $25,000 on a study of cellphone service. The consulting firm Cityscapes has been soliciting local municipalities to join in a regionwide study that will provide them with recommendations for how to proceed to improve cell coverage in their jurisdictions.