Sag Harbor Officials Take First Look at Proposed $15.05 Million Budget

The Sag Harbor Village Board on February 22 took its first look at a proposed budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Although the initial $15.05 million budget calls for an 11.64 percent spending increase over last year, totaling $1,569,727, Village Treasurer Tim Bullock told the board that, despite the double-digit spending increase, the village tax rate would fall within the 2.5 percent limit set this year under the state’s tax levy increase cap, in large part because of increases in nontax revenues.

This week, Bullock said he was unable to give an accurate tax rate because the village is still waiting for assessments for the East Hampton Town side of the village to be completed. Those figures are expected later this month, he said.

Unlike most municipalities, which base their tax rates on each $1,000 of assessed valuation, Sag Harbor, in an apparent nod to the inflated value of local real estate, bases its rate on each $1 million of a property’s value.

Last year, the village had a $2,715.30 rate per $1 million. It should be no more than $2,740.41 this year, Bullock said, unless there was some unforeseen expense.

Bullock said most of the spending increase can be traced to several big-ticket items. Among those are $446,000 for a new boat for the harbormaster and $241,000 toward an estimated $742,000 for a new fireboat. The village has already received a state grant of $250,000 and donations of $251,000 for that boat.

Other big expenses include approximately $256,000 to cover the cost of having professional paramedics on duty overnight to augment the volunteer crews. Trustee Tom Gardella, who is a member of the Sag Harbor Ambulance Corps, said Sag Harbor was the only ambulance service on the East End that did not have a paramedic available overnight.

Most other increases are pegged to wages and benefits for various village employees.

While spending is going up, so are nontax revenues. The draft budget anticipates a $1,455,769 hike in revenue. The biggest single item is a $762,000 increase in transient dockage fees and another $93,500 increase in other dockage fees. The village will collect significantly higher amounts for fire protection, ambulance services, and harbormaster services beyond the village boundaries, totaling $470,888.

Board members made no changes to the budget, and Bullock will meet with department heads this week to put a finer point on their budget needs.

The board will hold its next budget work session at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 15.