Letters

Our courageous mayor, Jesse Warren, on November 2 sponsored a Town Hall-style discussion. I submitted the following questions:

1. Why does the village use a blatant lie on every statement of taxes that the village sends to each resident? The “full market value of this property” on the statement is not close to reality. Why does the village choose to provide this deception? Does the village have no sense of integrity?

2. Why does the village refuse to provide residents with a written explanation of how assessed values are determined?

3. The village over-assesses low-value properties and under-assesses high-value properties. The residents of Windward Way pay three to six times more in village taxes (in relation to value) than the residents of the estate section. What is the village doing to correct this inequity?

4. The Southampton Village budget is $33 million. The Sag Harbor Village budget is $13 million. Why are Sag Harbor employees so much more productive than Southampton employees? What is the village doing to reduce the horrendous cost of village government?

At the meeting, I was allowed to rant about the shoddy treatment I received from Roy Stevenson and Bill McCoy at my February 15 grievance hearing. I also offered suggested improvements to the grievance process to make it intelligent and fair.

Mayor Warren can demonstrate his leadership skills by answering each of the questions and, more importantly, by acting on the noted issues.

David Rung

Southampton Village