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Port Jefferson Trustees

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Photo by Lynn Hallarman

By Lynn Hallarman

During the April 24 Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees meeting, discussions surrounding the Port Jefferson school district budget for the year 2024-25 and the new village parking initiative took center stage. 

School budget 

Deputy Superintendent Sean Leister provided a detailed overview of the school district’s financial landscape, emphasizing ongoing challenges. These challenges include an uncertain timeline for resolving the Child Victims Act litigation and decreases in revenue due to the LIPA glide path agreement. 

Leister reported that the Board of Education deliberated extensively on budget allocations for the upcoming year, focusing on necessary construction projects. Due to budget constraints, the school board approved four projects totaling $1 million. These projects relate to demolishing a no-longer-habitable high school portable classroom, renovating the high school orchestra room, renovating the elementary school pool and continuing a roofing project. 

Reduced enrollment prompted reductions in staff positions, amounting to 3.6 full-time equivalent positions. 

“I don’t say this lightheartedly for any reduction for a staff member is tough, but someone may be reduced from 100% to 80% meaning going from five classes to four,” Leister said. 

The budget breakdown highlighted that 77% of the district’s funding goes to salaries and benefits. 

“Once you take into account collective bargaining agreements, state regulations and state mandates, of this whole budget probably only about 4% is controllable,” he said. 

Leister noted increases for the coming year in medical insurance (10%), liability insurance (4%), teacher retirement insurance (9.76%-10.25%) and utilities (4%). 

Mayor Lauren Sheprow sought clarity on the reserve funds in the budget presentation. Leister indicated that the presentation did not explicitly state the details of the reserve funds. However, residents can find information about the funds on the district’s website. Leister summarized for the mayor a general breakdown of the reserve into six parts that comprise a fund for workers compensation, unemployment insurance, spikes in the retirement system, the teachers and civil service unions, and capital projects. 

“Right now, our capital reserve fund is $3.1 million. We use that to do different capital projects. The way we fund it is when we have a surplus at the end of a given year — the board will pass a motion to fund that reserve up to no more than $1.5 million each year,” Leister said.

Trustee Drew Biondo asked, “Is there any working group going on to bring the community in and talk about what we are doing as a district as our enrollment drops and how we maintain our services?” 

Sheprow responded, “In fact, the village created a school district interactive working group in response to taxpayer feedback about this issue. My perspective is that it is about building trust with community members to show that you are listening to them and being fiscally responsible.”

The 2024-25 second draft budget is projected at $48,018,335 ($47,066,099 in 2023-24), an increase of 2.02%.

The total amount of taxes levied by the school district for the 2024-25 academic year is estimated at $39.8 million ($39.3 million), a 1.24% increase. 

The vote for or against the 2024-25 budget will be held at the Earl L. Vandermeulen High School cafeteria on Tuesday, May 21. 

Managed parking

Andrew Freleng, director of the Building & Planning Department, reported on the progress of the newly-implemented parking management system. His presentation reviewed the village’s recent effort to streamline its parking infrastructure and improve user experience. The new system departs from previous practices, informed by operational recommendations from the parking committee. 

The initiative kicked off with the removal of redundant signage and simplified messaging. The new system also retooled pay stations to emphasize functionality and user experience.

Freleng emphasized the use of empirical data to inform operational decision-making. The overall approach is to refine the parking management strategy over time in response to data-driven outcomes such as revenue generated and community feedback. 

Managed parking in the village began April 15. Homeowners must each renew their virtual permit to park for free in village lots every two years. Renters renew every year. 

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Port Jefferson fire chiefs accepting recognition of Mayor Lauren Sheprow at the March 27 village trustees board meeting. Photo by Lynn Hallarman

By Lynn Hallarman

Village officials honored the service of the Port Jefferson Fire Department at the board of trustees meeting at Village Hall on March 27. 

Chief Soeren Lygum, first Assistant Chief Anthony Barton and third Assistant Chief Christian Neubert were present to accept special recognition on behalf of the fire department. 

“I thought it was an important time to recognize the fire department after the recent fire in the Port Jefferson village on Feb. 22 in which you preserved the health and safety of many people in the community by curtailing that blaze,” Mayor Lauren Sheprow said. 

“We’ve had a great working relationship with Mayor Sheprow,” Lygum said. “We’re constantly communicating with her when anything is happening in the village.” 

The mayor recounted numerous fire and rescue operations for the public, in which the fire department participated. 

Villagers were reminded they could become volunteer firefighters. “You can stop by, and we have applications readily available,” Lygum said. 

Dangerous roadways

Several residents spoke about long-standing problems with traffic accidents, dangerous intersections and a lack of walkable corridors into the village.

Janice Fleischman described the “multiple scary moments with cars” walking her dog on Old Post Road East near Laurel Drive. “It’s gotten worse because of debris and encroaching foliage,” she said. 

Fleischman cited data issued by Suffolk County between 2017 and 2021 demonstrating that the county had the highest number of people who died while walking, bicycling, riding a motorcycle or driving than any other county in New York State during the same period. 

“The suburbs were engineered for cars, not for people to walk,” she said. “Now we know that’s not good for our health.” She advocated for a network of sidewalks and to remediate dangerous intersections before “a terrible accident happens.” 

Lisa Jaeger reiterated Fleischman’s concerns about dangerous walking conditions on Old Post Road near Laurel Drive. 

“I can’t tell you how often I’ve almost hit people coming around that corner from Laurel Drive going down the hill toward Old Post Road. It’s very dangerous,” she said

Barbara Sabatino described perilous traffic conditions and numerous accidents near her home on East Broadway. She advocated for traffic-calming measures and enforcement. 

Trustee Rebecca Kassay responded to concerns by informing the public of a recent walkability study completed by the village. The next steps will include strategic discussions with the planning board and trustees, and seeking grant funding to address dangerous areas in the village’s most trafficked areas.

Municipal parking administrator position

Kevin Wood, an employee of the Village of Port Jefferson for the past seven years as the municipal parking administrator, gave an impassioned speech arguing against eliminating his position as part of the tentative 2024-25 fiscal budget.

“I won’t go into the complexity of our system but, suffice it to say, it is extremely complicated and busy. The village needs and deserves a dedicated parking administrator,” Wood said. 

He added, “Port Jefferson Village processes 250,000 transactions per eight-month season. No other village on Long Island even comes close to that. Parking brings in good revenue.” 

Wood highlighted some of his accomplishments in the past several years, including the revenue-generating digitally managed parking; the completion of the “first downtown parking lot in 50 years” — the Barnum parking lot, that is free for village employees; EV charges, merchant billing, pay-by-plate parking and lot security cameras. 

 “Parking is hugely complicated. It takes somebody to negotiate and bring what we’re up against to the board,” Wood said. 

Sabatino questioned the elimination of the parking administrator position. “The parking is so complex nowadays I can’t see eliminating the position without something else taking its place,” she said. 

Village attorney, David Moran, responded: “The board, when it decides to act, will act in this room publicly, and if it decides to go whatever way, we’ll fully lay out the plan in this room.”

The board of trustees will hold a work session Wednesday, April 10, at 5 p.m.

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Village resident Barbara Sabatino speaking about the tax cap. Photo courtesy PJV meeting via YouTube

By Lynn Hallarman

During the Feb. 28 Village of Port Jefferson Board of Trustees meeting, officials sought public input while deliberating the implementation of a tax cap override law allowing the village, if necessary, to increase property taxes above the New York State 2% tax cap.

The 4-1 vote grants trustees the option to levy additional property taxes past the 2% limit during the fiscal year 2024-25.

Village treasurer, Stephen Gaffga, explained that based on the state 2% tax cap law, allowable tax growth for the village can be up to, but not beyond, approximately $7.4 million this budget cycle. The tax cap override option would allow the board to levy taxes above the $7.4 million for unexpected village costs. 

“Based on my analysis of current village funds, I do not foresee the village needing to exceed the tax cap,” he said.

“The village has exceeded the 2% tax cap in eight of the last nine years,” Gaffga told TBR News Media. “The approximate range of the piercing is between $8,000 and $380,000, depending upon the year.”

New York State property tax cap New Yorkers pay among the highest property taxes nationwide. In 2011, the state Legislature enacted the tax levy limit to check spiraling property taxes. The law was made permanent in 2019 and limits the increase in the property taxes for a given budget cycle to 2% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower. This law impacts all local governments and school districts outside New York City. 

However, state law allows local governments to circumvent the tax levy limit by enacting a local law granting them the option to pierce the cap and increase property taxes above the 2% limit. A 60% majority, or three out of five votes from the village Board of Trustees, is needed to put in place an override option of the tax cap.

Public comment

Village resident Barbara Sabatino sought reassurances from the board. “We’ve had this type of public hearing for multiple years, and it was always with the assurance that should the village have to exceed 2% the increase would be small,” she said.

“We don’t have those figures yet,” Gaffga said. “But that’s certainly something that we can come up with during the tentative budget hearing for everybody.” 

Vote breakdown

Trustees Biondo, Juliano, Kassay and Loucks voted to adopt the resolution establishing a tax cap override option for this fiscal year.

Mayor Lauren Sheprow opposed the measure. “I feel strongly committed that my fiduciary responsibility as mayor, and working with the treasurer, that I’m strongly committed to not piercing the tax gap,” she said. 

The next Board of Trustees work session will be held March 13 at Village Hall.

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