Southold Town 2026 budget proposes 2.94% tax increase

Southold Town released its preliminary 2026 budget Tuesday with a 2.94% tax levy increase — a sharp drop from last year’s 7.48% spike — which stays within the state tax cap.

The $64.14 million spending plan is about $1.84 million higher than last year’s budget, far below the $5.1 million jump taxpayers saw between 2024 and 2025. The preliminary budget is set to raise $44.9 million from property taxes, with a 2.17% tax rate increase.

The town tax rate in the 2025 budget was $373.89 per $1,000 of assessed value, according to Board of Assessors chairman Kevin Webster. The proposed increase would add $8.11 for a total of $382 per $1,000.

For a homeowner with a taxable assessment at $7,000, the proposal would mean roughly $57 more per year in town taxes, to roughly $2,674 in 2026, Mr. Webster said.

Supervisor Al Krupski said the plan keeps spending under control while maintaining services.

“We’re trying to maintain the quality of life in town,” he said. “We’re still investing heavily in things that are impactful to everyday life, like our decades-long commitment to keeping our waterways clean.”

Last year’s 7.48% tax levy increase exceeded the state tax cap to cover rising salaries, insurance costs and retirement contributions for town employees.

This year, Mr. Krupski said, the town faced a new challenge — less revenue. Sales tax forecasts are flat, and mortgage tax receipts, which typically help offset property taxes, “greatly decreased,” he said.

Southold’s 2026 proposal gives all elected officials a 2% pay raise — after not receiving a bump last year — ranging from $514 to $2,539, depending on their position. Trustees would see the lower end of that scale, while the supervisor would be in line for the larger amount. 

Overall, the salary increases add $24,525 to the payroll for the town’s 19 elected officials.

It was “prudent not to propose salary increases for the Town Board, including the supervisor [last year],” Mr. Krupski said, adding this year’s pay raises are “fair” and “reasonable.”

The town currently employs 237 full-time and 84 part-time workers. Employee benefits remain a major expense at $16.3 million, up about $1.1 million. Public safety costs rose $477,000 to $12.9 million, while programs for the aging climbed roughly $62,000 to $1.7 million.

The highway department would receive $8.5 million, including $1.9 million for paving, $250,000 for sidewalk replacements and $250,000 for drainage projects. That’s down about $285,000 from last year’s $8.78 million figure. 

The Solid Waste Management District would rise by about $196,257, to nearly $5.1 million, including roughly $110,000 tied to higher refuse and disposal costs.

“This budget addresses the reality of having less revenue to work with,” Mr. Krupski said during a Town Board work session earlier this month. “I am committed to not letting the town get rundown, either in appearance or function.”

In recent years, the budgets were supported by federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, which helped offset local spending on items like new police cars. Those funds, allocated in the 2021 federal stimulus bill to help economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, had to be spent by the end of 2026. 

Southold’s 2.94% preliminary tax levy increase stands in contrast to Riverhead’s 7.74% increase for 2026 — its fourth straight budget poised to pierce the tax cap. The tax levy in Southold increased by 0.38% in 2024, 0.68% in 2023 and 2.22% in 2022. 

Public hearings on the new budget proposals are set for Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Southold Town Hall at 4 and 7 p.m. The Town Board must adopt a final budget by Nov. 20.

Residents seeking to calculate the assessed value of their property should contact the Southold Board of Assessors at 631-765-1937.