TOWN OF SMITHTOWN
Board Meeting 10/30/08
(BUDGET HEARING!!)

As the budget hearing was set to coincide with the Town Board meeting, those that had something to discuss about the 2009 budget were heard first. Several residents spoke about: (1) the amounts budgeted for highways and, if nothing was budgeted on one line then where was it now presented; and (2)  The issue of the St. James Fire Department's hand written budget without detail on estimates; unlike any other Fire District and from what the citizen said, it was not according to municipal law; and (3) the issue of raising taxes for 2009 when there was twenty-one (21) million dollars in surplus. The prior year was left with more than 28 million in surplus, so over 6 million was being shifted into 2009 but still the supervisor was raising more than a million dollars in taxes with much leftover in the surplus budget???
Councilwoman Biancaniello was surprised that the budget was put up for a vote as she had requested a meeting to address her issues. I wonder if one might have been the Supervisor's salary increase of $10,500. The seventh in eight years, and she (Ms. Biancaniello) never takes her increases.
The Town Board Meeting followed and several citizens spoke. When the issue of F.O.I.L.s was brought up the Supervisor announced that the new code with copies available for Financial Disclosure would occur after January 1, 2009. This announcement was coupled with a response to the questioner that he found her to be "invasive". Some may think that coming into compliance was the legally responsible action of a democratic government.