Town Board Passes Budget, Adds Contingency Funding

The East Hampton Town Board unanimously adopted its 2012 budget on Thursday night, making only two small adjustments to in adding a combined $30,000 to the town's contingency funds.

The addition to the contingencies will break down to $20,000 in the whole-town fund and $10,000 in the part-town fund.

The $20,000 added to the whole-town budget came in response to public pleas for increased funding of Project MOST, an after-school program which is losing $60,000 in state funding. Next year's budget already allots $10,000 for the nonprofit, same as 2011.

The addition to the part-town fund came at the recommendation by the  state comptroller, said Town Budget Officer Len Benard.

The $65 million budget includes a sale of East Hampton's share of Poxabogue Golf Center, though the board also passed a resolution Thrusday night extending its inter-municipal agreement with Southampton Town, giving East Hampton residents its continued greens fee discount.

For residents outside East Hampton and Sag Harbor Villages, the 2012 budget is expected to keep taxes roughly on par with 2011, while town taxes for residents within the villages should be cut more than 9 percent.

Nearly 8 percent of the tax levy will go to pay down debt left over from Wilkinson's predecessor, Supervisor Bill McGintee.