The Southold Town Board voted Wednesday to adopt its preliminary 2027 annual budget, along with a separate 2027 capital spending plan.
Both budgets passed on roll call votes with all board members present voting in favor: Councilman Mealy, Councilwoman Stevens, Councilwoman Doherty, Councilwoman Smith, Councilwoman Zeus and Supervisor Albert J. Krupsky Jr.
Krupsky said the board removed a 2% salary increase for elected officials that had been in his original proposal so it could fund other priorities. "The town board moved a lot of things around in what would be my budget, and they removed the salary increases for the elected officials that you see here," he said, adding that he believed it was "the right thing to do."
Krupsky also said he remained concerned about unfilled positions in the highway department. "I'm very concerned with the highway budget as we have, are not replacing a couple of vacant spots," he said, adding the board would likely need to revisit the issue during the year.
Before the vote, a resident asked the board about a $20,000 line item for a website redesign in the general fund budget. "I caught my eye this line item here for website redesign and the general fund for the whole town," the resident said, asking how the figure was determined and seeking more information about the plan.
Krupsky told the resident to email him so he could forward the questions to the town's IT staff, saying he was "not familiar with the nuts and bolts" of the website plans. The resident also raised ongoing problems with the town's document system, known as laser fish, saying it was often unusable and that working at unusual hours was needed to get it to function.
Krupsky said later that a tax-bill pie chart showing how town taxes are allocated would be added to the website in response to the public comment.
Earlier in the meeting, the board approved several other items. It authorized the town attorney to retain special counsel for a pending Suffolk County Supreme Court case and extended its contract with the North Fork Animal Welfare League through the end of 2026 at a rate of $24,801.75 per month. The board also moved a five-year lease renewal with the Suffolk County Office for the Aging for a 2012 passenger bus used for senior transportation.
The board also accepted a bid from Omni Recycling of Westbury for the town's recyclable materials hauling and processing contract; one councilmember asked the clerk to note a recusal from that vote.