Southampton Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst Gives State of the Town Address, Says Sunny Skies Are in Sight

After months spent navigating a sea of economic storms, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Thone-Holst told the public in her state of the town address on Friday that sunny skies are in sight. And she had good news for residents concerned with property assessment and taxation.

In an effort to “more proactively address issues around property assessment and taxation,” the supervisor said she is working with state legislators and the Office of Real Property Tax Services to review the town’s practice of annual full value assessment, as well as address some of the inequities that affect different sections of town.

Areas hit hard include areas in Hampton Bays, Flanders, Riverside, Northampton and Eastport, Throne-Holst said.

And, with the state budget eliminating funding that has helped support the 100 percent annual re-assessment process, the supervisor plans to re-evaluate the practice and explore a more consistent and predicable assessment and taxation practice.

“Our town is made up of a growing population of fixed income residents, especially seniors, for whom we must consider ways to bring improved consistency and affordability as relates to their property tax burden,” she said.

A critical component of the plan includes spotlighting the deep-rooted disparities in the school tax burden for residents in the western end of town, where school taxes are levied across town borders with Riverhead and Brookhaven.

In these areas, “Southampton taxpayers are invariably hurt by this system,” Throne-Holst said.

To that end, the supervisor said she plans to travel with Assemblyman Fred Thiele to Albany on Monday to meet with state real property representatives, with an eye toward exploring alternatives.

Looking forward, Throne-Holst said Southampton has tackled financial adversity and come out on solid ground.

“I am more than pleased to be able to unequivocally state that the Town of Southampton has turned a most significant corner in reestablishing financial soundness and reasonable good health,” she told the standing room only crowd in town hall.

After two years of financial turbulence, Throne-Holst said a mammoth amount of work and dedication by town staffers has resulted in an improved financial landscape.

“We are a leaner town government, a more fiscally sound one, and a more financially responsible organization than we were a year ago,” she said.

The goal is to continue to seek innovative and effective ways to serve the community while “doing more with less,” she said.

Improved financial management policies and procedures, numerous audits have been completed, including a state comptroller’s office requested by former town Councilwoman Sally Pope in 2009.

A corrective action plan, due this month, “marks the final step in this long and elaborate odyssey,” Throne-Holst said.

As long as the town adheres to the new regimen of financial oversight and practices and ensures budgets are structurally sound, she said, “This town will never go back to the yesteryears of accounting dysfunction and systemic deficits.”

However, there is still work do be done.

“We still have unaddressed deficits that will need to be cured and properly addressed,” she said.

On the plus side, she said, the town has reduced an approximate $8.1 million deficit by nearly 20 percent, to slightly more than $6.5 million.

And for the first time in years, the police fund, which has been plagued with “lingering, multi-year deficits,” is in the black.

The supervisor credited the town’s deficit reduction plan, as well as careful budgeting and oversight by retiring Southampton Town Police Chief James Overton.

A $4.9 million deficit still exists in waste management, with a nearly $1 million deficit in the beach enterprise fund and there is a $600,000 deficit in the marina budget. Also expected is an approximate $130,000 deficit in land management in 2011.

The bottom line, Throne-Holst said, is the town achieved a net $1 million in improved fund balances in 2010.

The supervisor said the “sounder and more appropriate bonding program” recommended by Town Comptroller Tamara Wright is recommended.

Throne-Holst thanked town employees profusely for their diligence.

“Your commitment is what made this initial turnaround possible,” she said.

The supervisor also discussed new initiatives, including an information technology advisory committee, an effort geared toward investigating alternative insurance programs; a constituent response program, called the 311call center, which was created to provide the public with easy access to government services; and energy conservation measures.

The year also marked victory in labor relations, said Throne-Holst with the Police Benevolent Association and the employee union, CSEA working cooperatively with the town in a proactive approach toward reaching consensus.

Land use was also a key point.

“There is an African proverb that states, ‘Where the water rules, the land must obey,’” she said.

Protection of the town’s waterways is paramount, Throne-Holst said, pointing to initiatives including the Local Waterfront Revitalization plan to safeguard resources.

Also coming, she said is a newly completed draft of a town-wide motel/hotel conversion study, something Hamptons Bays residents clamored for at recent draft environmental impact statement hearings.

The newly created Southampton Town Housing Authority will commence construction of nine affordable homes this year, with plans for more to come, Throne-Host noted.

“The reorganization of affordable housing under the auspices of the Housing Authority has already had positive results,” she said.

And a new Riverside/Flanders Economic Development Task Force will begin meeting this month to develop a realistic plan for bringing community appropriate development and jobs into the area, she said.

County Legis. Jay Schneiderman has partnered with the town to secure a $250,000 grant to conduct a sewer treatment study that would support future development in the area while protecting aquatic ecosystems.

The supervisor also discussed strides in code enforcement and accomplishments of board members.