Cutchogue-New Suffolk council seeks $60K annual tax levy as costs rise

Preserving Cutchogue and New Suffolk’s history — and the aging buildings that hold it — may soon become a line on local property tax bills.

The Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council & Museums is seeking $60,000 in annual taxpayer funding to maintain its six museum buildings, the Village Green and Old Burying Ground. A vote is scheduled for Aug. 25.

The proposal would cost the average taxable property about $21.52 a year and continue annually unless voters later changed or eliminated it, according to the council.

Mark MacNish, who has served as executive director for five years, said volunteer labor has become harder to find than when the council was formed more than six decades ago.

“When the organization was founded in 1960, everything was done by volunteers,” Mr. MacNish told The Suffolk Times on Monday. “The lawn was mowed by volunteers. Repairs were done by volunteers.”

Volunteers once took on projects as ambitious as moving historic buildings to the Village Green. Today, the council increasingly must hire contractors for routine upkeep.

“What we can’t do with volunteers now, we have to pay people to do,” Mr. MacNish said. “We have to pay to maintain the Village Green, to have it mowed and to have all the buildings kept up.”

The council operates the Old House, Old Schoolhouse, Wickham Farmhouse, Red Barn, Carriage House and Village Garage. It also maintains the Cutchogue Old Burying Ground, including surveying graves and placing burial information in a searchable online database.

Four of the museum buildings need new roofs, Mr. MacNish said. The Old Schoolhouse is the most pressing and is scheduled for roof replacement in October, while the other three will likely require work within the next several years.

The council’s latest federal tax return shows how heavily it relies on investment returns to meet those expenses.

It reported $147,623 in revenue and $142,136 in expenses in 2024, leaving a $5,487 surplus. But $93,453 — nearly two-thirds of its revenue — came from investment income and gains. Contributions and grants generated $19,301, while programs brought in $34,503.

The previous year, the council recorded a $54,561 deficit.

The organization ended 2024 with about $1.3 million in assets, including nearly $880,000 in publicly traded securities, $353,907 in land, buildings and equipment and $67,880 in cash. It reported no liabilities.

Mr. MacNish said the council tries to cover its expenses through investment earnings without reducing the principal, but that has become increasingly difficult.

“As time has gone on, we have had to go more into the principal, and we can see that things are going more in that direction,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons why we are asking for this money.”

If approved, the levy would begin in the 2026-27 fiscal year and continue annually. Mr. MacNish said another vote would be required to raise or eliminate it. If passed, individual bills would vary by assessment.

Every household in the Cutchogue and New Suffolk ZIP codes would be offered a complimentary annual membership beginning in 2027 if the proposition passes. Benefits would include museum admission, access to events and exhibitions and a gift-shop discount.

The proposal follows Southold and Peconic voters’ 329-144 approval in May of a $183,155 annual levy providing public funding for the Southold Historical Museum for the first time.

Mr. MacNish said the council wants residents to view its proposition as support for community assets, not simply a collection of historical exhibits. The organization has maintained the Village Green for public use for decades and allows other nonprofit groups, including the library and Old Town Arts and Crafts Guild, to hold events there.

“We’re not just a historical organization,” he said. “We’re really a community organization.”

Before the vote, the council will hold a “Dessert & Discussion” session Tuesday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. in the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Free Library’s community room.

Voting will take place Aug. 25 from 2 to 8 p.m. at the Mattituck-Cutchogue School District administration building, formerly West Cutchogue School, at 385 Depot Lane in Cutchogue.

The council’s tax-funding proposal and meeting information and 2024 federal tax return are available online.