Please Consider This Initiative

To all Brookhaven Town Residents:

The 2013 tentative budget calls for $13.91 million in spending cuts accomplished through the closure of the Holtsville Ecology Site, and the elimination of senior, women’s, veterans and youth services. Since early September my office has been flooded with phone calls, emails and letters from residents from across the Town demanding that these services be restored. These residents have made it clear how deeply they depend on the services the Town of Brookhaven provides.

At tomorrow night’s board meeting I will fight to restore many of these programs and associated layoffs within the same spending limitations set forth in the tentative budget. Through the realignment of town departments we have the ability to restore not only the Holtsville Ecology Site but other services and positions. My colleagues on the board are not in favor of using all the savings to support the restoration of programs and positions, in spite of the fact that there is no tax impact.

For the past three years we have asked our Town employees to do more with less; and they have answered the call without a reduction in services. In a year where we have the opportunity to stabilize taxes and retain services and jobs, we should not be laying off employees, many of whom are your friends and neighbors. Your voice is the only way I can convince my colleagues to support the restoration of services and positions.

Once we are through this year’s budget crisis we will certainly be faced with one next year. That is why I am proposing the Taxpayer and Workforce Stabilization Fund. This Fund will amend the 2013 tentative budget to restore the tax levy to what it was in 2012. The funds generated from that restoration will be used in 2014 to protect the taxpayer from further cuts in services. It uses a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to set aside funds without asking the taxpayer to pay more in taxes.

To save services and jobs I need you. I made these proposals at Work Session on Thursday and received tremendous pushback from Councilwoman Jane Bonner, Councilman Tim Mazzei and Councilman Dan Panico. As Long Island slowly climbs out of recession, we are left with the choice of slashing programs and employees or coming up with creative ideas to stabilize taxes and retain services. These proposals are those creative ideas.

I urge you to attend the Tuesday night’s board meeting at Town Hall, 1 Independence Hill Farmingville starting at 5 pm, to voice your support for these resolutions and to contact the following council people :

Councilwoman Jane Bonner: 631-451-6964
Councilman Tim Mazzei: 631-451-6645
Councilman Daniel Panico: 631-451-6502

Email us at:
Fiore-Rosenfeld@Brookhaven.org
JBonner@Brookhaven.org
CouncilwomanWalsh@Brookhaven.org
CouncilwomanKepert@Brookhaven.org
CouncilmanMazzei@Brookhaven.org
CouncilmanPanico@Brookhaven.org

To show support you can also “like” the Facebook page you’ll find at  http://www.facebook.com/restoreTOB

Very respectfully,
Councilwoman Connie Kepert