Letters

Elected officials have a fiduciary responsibility to our residents and stakeholders. Our current Southampton Village mayor, Jesse Warren, has failed to hold this responsibility in favor of achieving a political gain. Legislation being passed by this administration fails to represent village stakeholders.

Mayor Warren raised our taxes 5 percent his first budget year, only to reduce them this election year under the guise of tax saving. His current reduced budget is simply achieved by underestimating revenue and carrying forward gains of previous administrations — a classic bait-and-switch endeavor during an election year, at the taxpayer expense.

Who wouldn’t want to save money on their tax bill? But when we dig a little deeper, there is a true cost to the village. The mayor promised a sewer, and we are still waiting. This could have been achieved when the mayor was elected. We had a $10 million surplus plus record low interest rates that could have been put to work to save us thousands, a missed opportunity. Instead, the much-publicized long-term debt now has raised to $115 million.

The mayor has consistently appointed individuals (the best and brightest, he claims) into positions of power to move his agenda forward. They are not elected nor do they represent village residents.

When one becomes a public figure, you can say goodbye to private life, so let’s take a look at who the village has. In the village finance committee, there is a history of past bankruptcy. Follow the money and you will find his supporters.

As mayor, I will make the promise that I will sit at the table to discuss, as I have done in the past, issues with the police department and any other department in the village needing direction. I will represent the community in an open, transparent manner. Any individual appointed to a committee will be vetted and will be a stakeholder in the Village of Southampton.

When our employees are afraid of losing their jobs, we lose productivity in the village. It’s the snowball effect destroying everything in its path.

This election, we need to come together and unify our community. As promised, I will work for you and the Village of Southampton.

Michael Irving

Southampton Village

Mr. Irving, a former mayor, is running for the post again this year — Ed.