No one wants to raise taxes ahead of Election Day, but several local governments on Long Island say they have no choice in order to keep up with spiraling costs.

Smithtown residents protested on Tuesday, saying a $160 increase per year is too much.

Piercing the state tax cap

Just weeks ahead of the budget vote and with a 124-page budget to analyze, Commack attorney Irwin Izen said he was livid to learn his town taxes are going up well above the 2% state tax cap.

“Are we getting better services for our higher taxes? Are we getting better roads and parks, more kids to attend the parks? The answer is no,” Izen said.

This will mark the first time Smithtown has had to pierce the cap, after 11 of 13 towns on Long Island did so last year. More than half of the island’s towns plan to pierce the cap this year.

Smithtown Supervisor Edward Wehrheim cites inflation, which he says is cumulatively up 12% since 2021, for raising prices on everything from fuel to the town’s workforce.

“Two difficult options — a 9% increase, about $3 per week, or deep cuts [to staff and programs],” Wehrheim said.

Recent state rollbacks in pension savings

In addition to inflation, Wehrheim points to higher New York state retirement pension costs, and higher health liability insurance and workers’ compensation as part of the problem.  

Municipal law expert Paul Sabatino says across Long Island, double spending at the town and county levels keeps taxes high, but he also pointed to costly state mandates. He said the state Legislature recently rolled back pension savings, which “will generate $100,000 of retirement income per person over time, and that is a huge hit for municipalities.”

Sabatino also cites tax breaks for developers and ever-increasing insurance premiums.

“One of the things driving health care expenses, believe it or not, is weight loss drugs [that] are now available. It is driving costs up 16%,” Sabatino sad.

“That’s like slap in the face to us”

Protesters outside town hall on Tuesday blasted recent pay hikes for elected officials.

“How on Earth we are going to have the tax cap pierced and they’re going to take … that’s like a slap in the face to us,” Smithtown resident Amy Fortunato said.

“You go to the supermarket, you get two bags of food, it’s over $100. Water is going up, electricity is going up,” added Bob Semprini, of the Commack Civic Association.

“If I have increased costs on one side, I’ve got to have decreased spending on the other side,” Izen said.