Mattituck Park District heads back to drawing board after voters reject budget

The Mattituck Park District will meet Thursday, Sept. 2, to discuss how to revise its budget after voters soundly rejected a proposed budget on Aug. 12.

By a 133 to 66 vote, district voters turned down a proposed budget that included a 39% increase in taxes the district receives. 

Charles Gueli, the head of the three-person district board, said in an email that at the Sept. 2 meeting “there will be a discussion to determine how to revise the last budget for another vote.”

Mr. Gueli said prior to the Aug. 12 vote that members of the board listed projects and improvements they considered critical to complete, including an exercise trail at an as yet unspecified location, and decided the budget needed to be increased. After consultations with town officials and realizing the district budget had not been increased in approximately a decade, the board voted 2-1 in July to raise the budget by 39%, to a total of $400,000. The lone dissenter was board member Nicholas Deegan.

In an email Friday, Mr. Deegan said he will be pushing for a revised budget that stays within the 2% tax cap.

The meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room at Veterans Park in Mattituck.