Letters

Featured Letter: Time to limit salary increases

Southold-BOE-meeting-preview-March-13-2013

To the editor:

I am concerned that our economy will wind up like Detroit’s. The big problem is the annual increase in property taxes. School taxes represent 65 to 70 percent of the tax bills.

The cost of living went up 1.5 percent last year. Southold teacher salaries, for example, went up 5.5 percent (2 percent salary plus 3.5 percent for longevity and steps). In addition, teacher retirement benefit payments by our school district to the state pension fund have gone up 37 percent. Our school board’s elected members must limit salary increases to the cost of living. Surely the unions won’t want to bankrupt our communities.

State legislators must control pension add-ons.

Donald Wagner, Southold